At the Beginning
by terriberri23
Summary: This story falls after Dead Inside. I always thought there were a lot of things missing with Flack and Angell's relationship. So each chapter is a rewrite of each episode to include Jess and moments between Don and her.
1. Chapter 1: My Name is Mac Taylor

_**Chapter 1:**_

_**My Name is Mac Taylor**_

Jess placed her gun on the ledge of the station she was shooting at and clicked the button to switch targets. Her head was thumping but she needed to work through some of her frustrations. Frustrations, she was having with the case she's been working on, frustrations with the mountain of paperwork up on her desk that seemed to be growing instead of shrinking, frustrations with her life. Her mind drifted back in time to a week ago when he called her for a ride. He had kissed her and then said thanks, which had confused her to no end and caused her a few sleepless nights while she contemplated the meaning. She shook herself back to reality and got ready to shoot again. When it came over the speaker 'hold your fire,' Jess turned to see who had interrupted her, assuming it was Holly from the crime lab, with something on their case but a smile came to her face when she saw it was Flack. Jess lifted the ear defenders as he approached her cubicle "Hey," Flack said.

"What's up?" Jess said

"Oh nothing. Just taking a break from the Mac Taylor case and was looking for you," he replied

"Well here I am," Jess said

"I can see that," He stated, "Want to get a coffee at Tilley's?"

Jess thought for a second "Sure, I can use a caffeine fix while I'm waiting for Holly to call," She said

"Still got nothing on the Sheppard Case?" he asked as she removed the clip from the gun and started to put the things away.

She shook her head no, "I have no evidence but I know who killed Hallie Sheppard and her unborn child," she said

"The boyfriend," he replied

"It's always the boyfriend," Jess stated rolling her eyes

"Not always, sometimes it's the jealous wife," Flack said with a smug grin on his face

************************************************************************************************************************************

"No way," Jess said as she and Don strolled though central park.

Don took a bite of his ice cream "I'm telling you batman is way cooler then spider-man," he said laughing.

"Na-Uh," Jess said, "Spider-man had superhuman strength and reflexes, he could climb pretty much anything and he could shoot spider webs from his wrists. Batman doesn't even have super powers; he just rode around in the bat mobile with Robin"

Don smiled "Batman saved Gotham City all the time. He might not have had superpowers but he was a good detective," he said

"Spiderman would kick batman's butt," Jess said, "How did we get into this conversation anyways?"

"I'm not entirely sure," He admitted "but it is one of the more intriguing conversations I've had on a date"

Jess stopped in her tracks and her eyes widen with horror "Date?" she repeated the word, "Don, this is not a date"

"I knew that," Flack said blushing "we're just friends."

Jess shook her head "This is not a date because you didn't ask me out. Tilley's, we go there at least twice a week and we're both still on duty," She explained

"So hypothetically, if I had specifically asked you out on a date…what would your answer have been?" Don asked suddenly getting shy.

Jess smiled and flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder "I eat at Tilley's with you at least twice a week; I got out of bed at 1 in the morning to give you a ride. And I'm eating ice cream in the freezing cold…what do you think my hypothetical answer would be?" She said

Flack smiled, "I'm off Monday night and I believe you are too…want to do something?" he asked

"Maybe," Jess said smirking as they walked back to the station. 　

_A/N: Just a short start…should I continue? _


	2. Chapter 2: The Box

_A/N: This chapter is rated mature due to a little bit of sexual content._

_**Chapter 2:**_

_**The Box**_

　Jess felt the weight of his body on her as he pushed further into her core. Their breathing was deep and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned his head down and lightly placed his lips on her neck and up her cheek and back to her lips. Flack pushed in again and they were both so close to the edge when the cell phone went off. Jess let go off his neck and reached over to the night table and grabbed her stupid phone, flipped it open and said into it, "Angell"

Don smirked at the annoyed expression on Jess' face, he leaned down so their noses were touching, "Yeah I'll be there in half an hour," she said as Don moved his head back to her neck and started to place light kisses there. Jess swallowed a moan back into her throat.

"No I'm fine, see ya at the scene," Jess said before flicking the phone close. Don kissed her with such force Jess dropped the phone on to the floor, she sighed "Got…to…go," Jess mumbled against his lips.

Don moved faster and harder inside her, finishing want they started. "Didn't think you were on duty tonight," he replied rolling off her.

"I'm not," Jess said pulling the sheet with her as she crawled out of the bed, "but that's the fun part of being just a third grade detective; makes me low on the food chain." She said turning back and smiling.

"Yes because being at first grade means you won't get called at 4 in the morning," Don said sarcastically.

Jess laughed "Benton and Rogers are on but apparently criminals are really busy tonight," Jess said smirking, "I'm sorry about cutting this short," she said kneeling on the bed and placing a kiss on his cheek.

"You don't need to apologize to me. I get it," Flack said pulling her back into his arms.

"Really got to go," Jess said as she got up again and headed around the room gathering up her clothing. Jess stopped suddenly "What?" Flack asked

"I distantly remember having underwear on last night," Jess said

"I distantly remember them too," Don stated laughing

"I can't find them," she said pouting her lips

"Did you check under the bed or under the blankets on the floor?" Don asked

Jess nodded as she looked around the room again "Ok screw it," she said pulling her legs into her jeans and up over her waist and did them up

"You're going commando?" Flack said amused

"Yes I am," she replied

**************************************************************************************************************************

Jess stood in the rain looking over 36 year old Brandon Jones' body. "It just had to be raining," Joshua said "there are so many buildings around here and he had to die in the streets"

Jess rolled her eyes "I'm sure he just chose to be murdered in the street to inconvenience you," she said sarcastically

"Ignore him; he has the sensitivity of a cat," Holly said shaking her head

"Evidence, ladies evidence," Josh said

"Alright, I canvassed and no one saw or heard anything," Jess said

"So you're going to head back now," Josh said looking at her

"Yep," Jess said, "have fun in the rain," she leered as she headed back to the cruiser leaving the nightshift CSIs to do their work.

***********************************************************************************************************************************

Jess stared at the computer screen eating a Hershey's chocolate bar and going through personal records and financial records of her victim.

"You're wet," Don said leaning over her desk

"You are very observant, Flack," Jess said laughing, "It was raining this morning when I was at my crime scene."

"And you have nothing in your locker?" he asked

"I'll dry…it's mostly my hair anyhow," Jess replied as she scanned through the reports

"How's your case going?"

"It's going. I was about to interview Reggie Dupar," Flack said, "Yours?"

"The rain washed away a lot of the evidence," Jess said, "But…I think I got something," she looked up from the computer screen, "got to go," she smiled as she grabbed her badge and gun from her desk drawer.

"Later," Flack stated

*************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess typed the last word on the screen; she had one more quick glance at her report on Jones' murder before clicking the print button. It was late and the station was almost empty but Jess had wanted to get the paperwork done and out of the way. She walked over to the printer and placed the report into the folder she was holding.

"Hey you," Flack said coming up behind her and startling her enough that she dropped the folder onto the floor. Jess turned around, "Sorry didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't…just didn't think anyone else was here besides O'Bryan in his office," Jess said

"I just finished processing Elizabeth Barker," He replied still smirking at the fact he scared her

"Oh yeah…how's the baby?" Jess said picking up the folder and putting the papers back into it.

"Good…grandparents are going to get custody," He replied "I heard you got your man"

"Woman actually…the cheating wife who signed a prenup," Jess replied

Flack looked around to make sure they were alone, "So we umm sort of got interrupted this morning," he said

"Yes we did," Jess replied. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Jess walked a little closer to Flack "Just a random fact I'm still going commando," she smirk seductively

An involuntary shiver went down his back "I'll walk out ahead of you," Flack said smiling and he turned from her and headed out of the precinct.

Jess smiled to herself as she threw the file onto her desk…paperwork would wait until the morning.


	3. Chapter 3: The Triangle

_**Chapter 3:**_

_**The Triangle**_

Jess bent down, pulled out her last load of clothes, and tossed them into her laundry basket on top of the dryer. When she finished she looked at her watch, it was already 5:15. Flack was coming over at seven and she still had a million things to do before then. She grabbed the basket and headed out of the laundry mat and back up to her apartment. Outside her apartment door, leaned against the wall stood Don. "Wow, you're early," Jess stated shocked to see him there already.

"I know," Don replied looking somber, "I'm sorry for just dropping in. I can leave again."

Jess took in his expression; he looked like he was having a bad day "Don't be silly. Come in. I wasn't expecting you until later," Jess said taking her key out of her boxers pocket and tried to juggle the basket and get the key into the keyhole. Don took the basket out of her hands and gave her a smile as she opened the door.

"Just drop the basket anywhere," Jess said as she dropped her keys on the table by the door. Don did as he was told and placed the basket on the floor with his arms now free, he slipped them around Jess and pulled her into him and kissed her.

"So what's going on?" Jess asked when they came up for air.

"Nothing," Don said "Why?"

Jess took his hand and led him over to the couch so they were sitting, "because you showed up for our date two hours early so I was curious," she replied

"So what did you do on your day off?" He asked, avoiding her question.

"Alright, I'll let you change the subject. Let's see I went for a run, I cleaned, did errands, and laundry," Jess stated, "nothing exciting, I still have to go to the store and shower"

"You can give me a list of things you need I'll run to the store for you," Don replied

"Nah, I'll do it. I'm cooking you dinner remember," Jess said

"And I showed up two hours early," Don said smiling

"True. You can help me," Jess said smirking, "with the shower."

"*************************************************************************************************************************************

Don put the last plate in the dishwasher while Jess leaned against the counter finishing her glass of wine. Don had insisted on doing the dishes since she cooked. "I could have did the dishes," Jess stated

"You cooked, I clean," Don replied, "that's fair"

"Momma Flack raised a gentleman," Jess replied grinning

"Yes she did," Don said matter-of-factly

"A quiet one though," Jess said

Don looked at her "Are we back on that?" he asked

Jess shrugged her shoulders "I know that something is bugging you, "she replied, "I know your case was a bit strange; the triangle strikes again."

"How?' he asked

"I was down to the station today to get my schedule for the rest of the week and next week and I ran into Danny, he was telling me about the case," She replied

"I don't know Jess; the case wasn't bad or anything. I've had worse. I almost got hit in the head with a glass and I didn't get the girl. Jamie ran before we figured out she was Bernie's daughter and that she was involved with the robbery of the armored truck which ultimately led to the death of the security guard," Don said, "I think what pisses me off the most is that Jamie walked into the bar before we knew everything and Bernie sent her off. I should have picked up on the way Bernie treated her."

"Don, you are not a mind reader. No way you could have known," Jess said

"I know but…," he said letting his sentence hang.

"I get it," Jess said "I hate it when they get away too and it's even more frustrating when you know someone is guilty and they walk. However, there is only so much we can do"

Don smiled "I know. There all cleaned up," he said

"Oh I tvo'ed last nights Knicks game," Jess laughed

**************************************************************************************************************************************

Chris Duhon threw the ball into the basket taking the Knicks into the lead. Jess and Don were watching the game on her bed, Jess had her head placed on his chest and he had his arm around her and was lightly drawing circles on her back. The sound of the rain bouncing off the windowsill added to the soothing atmosphere.

"I'm going to fall asleep," Jess said as she scooted her head up so she could reach the crook of his neck and put light kisses there.

"Are you trying to keep yourself awake?" He asked laughing

"Maybe," Jess giggled.

Don gently grabbed her on the inside of the arms and pulled her up to his face. Jess leaned down and kissed him hard on the lips. They came up for oxygen; Don flicked a few strands of her hair that had fallen into her face out of her eyes. Jess pulled back, looked Don deep in the eyes, and bit the bottom of her lip. Don had learned that this was a reflex; she did either when she was nervous or really concentrating

"So what's bugging you?" Don asked as Jess moved her body so that she was again resting her head on Don's chest.

She kept biting her lip as her brain tried to form the question just right, "What are we telling people at work?" she blurted out.

Don smiled "whose asked?" he asked

"No-one…._yet,_" Jess said, "But Holly and Stella are annoyingly observant"

Flack laughed she was right about that "What do you want to do?" he asked

"I don't necessarily want to keep it a secret but I like to keep this private for a little while anyhow," Jess replied

"I agree," he said, "its no ones business but ours"

"So you won't tell Messer?" She asked

"If you don't tell Scott," Don stated

"No worries there" Jess stated…Holly was a good friend but she just wasn't ready for her to know.

"Okay," Don said, he shifted her body so she was resting herself atop of his, "So where were we again?"

Jess smiled and moved so she was straddling him, she lowered her head down so their lips were almost touching, "I think we were right here," Jess said as she placed her lips on his.


	4. Chapter 4: Forbidden Fruit

_**Chapter 4:**_

_**Forbidden Fruit**_

Don sat at the edge of the bed buttoning up his shirt and rubbing the sleepiness from his face. He took a glance over at Jess still sleeping, he reached for his tie and wrapped it around his neck and tied it. Don sat there enjoying the moment. It was the middle of the night and he had been called in. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't resist leaning in and lightly placing a kiss on her lips. He could hear her giggle. "Didn't mean to wake you," He said

Jess rubbed her hand over her face, trying to get the sleep from her eyes "Where are you going?" Jess asked only half-conscious.

"See I'm a homicide detective," Don said, trying to sound cool and he showed her his badge and ID "I just got called into work so I'm going to go solve a murder"

Jess looked at the ID he was holding and crack up, "and your name is Jessica Angell?"

Don looked at the ID and badge he was holding to realized they were Jess' "well that would have been bad," he said laughing and leaned in for another good-bye kiss.

"Yes," Jess laughed against his mouth, "definitely wouldn't have kept this private"

"Alright," He said still so close to her that she could feel his breath on her. "I have to go," he stated moving back from her.

Jess nodded her head "Kay," she replied. Don started to get off the bed when she reached out and took his tie and pulled him back towards her, she pushed her lips against his for one steamy kiss, "Am I going to see you tonight?" she asked.

Don nodded his head and broke the kiss, "Go back to sleep, it is still early," he said, kissing Jess one more time before hitting the road.

***************************************************************************************************************************

Jess stepped off the elevator at the crime lab, she had been working on the Declan Rooney case all day and she had nothing. Diakos certainly knew what he was doing.

"Hey, Angell," Danny called as he walked out from layout.

"Hey, Messer," Jess said back

"Haven't seen you around lately," Danny said

"I'm a drifter," Jess said smiling, "O'Bryan keeps moving me back and forth between days and nights," She explained, "And I'm with Stella today"

They continued to chat as they walked down the hallway, "How come you don't bring me coffee when we work together?" Danny asked in a joking tone referring to the two cups of coffee she was holding.

"Because she likes me better," Stella said poking her head out of her office.

Jess laughed and Danny put on a fake hurt look, "Could be that or could be the fact Stella called me about this case while I was standing in line at Starbucks and asked me to get her a cup too," Jess said

"I think it is because you like Stella better," Danny joked

"Probably," Jess replied laughing

Danny laughed as his cell went off; he talked for a few seconds before hanging up. "I got to go...Flack's picking me up so we can go interview a potential suspect...talk to you ladies later," He said turning to head down the hall, he turned back around and called, "Angell, I expect coffee next time."

"Ha-ha," Jess laughed and rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't count on it" she called back

Stella smiled and motioned for Jess to come into her office and closed the door behind her, "Okay so I know you didn't just call me for coffee and since the case is going cold as we speak, I'm going to be blunt and say you are up to something," Jess stated.

Stella smiled, "I have a plan to get Deikos but I need your help," Stella said passing Jess a folder. Jess opened it, read though the files Stella had put together on an ex-con named Stan Travado.

"I'll help you Stella but I want to know what I'm agreeing too. I want to know exactly what your plan is," Jess said

"But you're in?" Stella questioned

"I'm in," Jess replied

***********************************************************************************************************************

"How did it go?" Stella asked as Angell slipped into the passenger's seat of the truck.

"He took the bait," Angell replied

"Great! Hopefully Kolovos will lead us to Diakos," Stella stated as she drove off.

"That's the plan anyways," Jess said

"Thanks for helping me with this," Stella said

"It's not a problem. Diakos is a murderer, I want him too," Jess said

Stella smiled "Can I ask you one more favor," she asked turning her left blinker on to indicate she was switching lanes.

"You can ask," Jess said

"Can we keep this operation between you and me?" Stella requested

"Sure," Jess said, her cell started to buzz; she flipped it open and read the new txt message from Flack

"_Can't make our plans. Messer and some other guys from work have taken me hostage and are forcing me to go to Sully's for beers. Make it up to you. Don"_

Jess had to laugh at the message but she also felt disappointed that she wouldn't get to see Don tonight. The disappointed must have showed on her face because Stella asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, looks like I no longer has plans for tonight," Jess replied txting Flack back with the message, "_No big deal. TTYL"_

"Too bad," Stella said, Jess looked over, thankful it was Stella that she was with and not anyone else from work. The great thing about Stella, she was observant but she didn't pry.

The ladies drove the rest of the way back to the crime lab in comfortable silence.

*****************************************************************************************************************************

"Pregnant!" Don said shocked.

Danny leaned over the pool table to take his shot "Yes, Lindsay is pregnant," he replied.

"Wow man, Congratulations," Flack said, still shocked. He wasn't even aware that Danny and Lindsay were back together.

"Thanks," Danny said, hitting the cue ball with his pool stick but missing the solid two he was aiming at.

"Your aim sucks," Flack said, getting ready for his shot.

"It was a hard shot," Danny defended

"My four year old nieces could have made that shot," Flack said, hitting the cue ball, which went for the striped number 9 ball and knocked it into the corner pocket.

Danny did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at Flack "Real mature, Daddy to be," Flack said

Danny rolled his eyes and took a drink from his beer "Funny," he said getting ready to take his shot, "I missed the Knicks game from the other night, who won?" Danny asked

Don had to think, he and Jess had started to watch it but he never did see the final score, "I don't know...didn't watch it," Flack said

Danny looked at him and laughed, "You're so getting laid," he stated

Flack just gave him an annoyed look, "again mature daddy," he said

"So who is she? You're not back with Chloe are you?" Danny asked.

"No, I'm not back with Chloe" Flack answered. Chloe was a girl he had dated last summer for a month, they had broke up because she didn't understand his long hours and didn't enjoy being constantly cancelled on.

"But you are seeing someone," Danny stated, "So what's the bimbo's name?"

"She's not a bimbo," Flack defended and beamed at the imagine of Jess kicking Danny's ass for the bimbo comment.

"Man, you got it bad," Danny snickered

"Would you just shoot?" Flack ordered

"It's your turn," Danny said cracking up, "Yep, you definitely been hit by one of cupid's arrows"

Flack gave him another annoyed look, "Oh, just Shut-up man," he said taking his shot.

**********************************************************************************************************************

Jess flicked the TV channels, there was seriously nothing on besides crime shows and since her life was an actual crime show she didn't really want to watch it on TV. She finally decided on some lifetime movie, it was getting late and she cuddled down on the couch, her eyes started to close when a knock came on the door. Jess turned to face the inside of the couch and pulled the blanket up convinced the knock was part of a dream.

The door opened and Flack entered her apartment. Don smiled at Jess cuddled up on the couch asleep. He closed and locked the door before walking over to where she was. He quietly sat down on the coffee table and placed a hand on her back "Jess," He whispered

Jess jumped a mile "Don what the hell!" She said

"Sorry," He apologized

Jess was totally awake now "How did you get in? And what are you doing here?" She asked

"Spare key that you hide behind the fire extinguisher," He answered "I know it's late but I got bored at Sully's," He explained

Jess smiled she knew he didn't really get bored but had left early to see her "Okay," she said," But next time call or something...you're lucky I never reached for my gun"

"Okay," Don agreed, "How about we head to bed" he said, causally raising his eyebrow and smirking.

Jess sat up, moved herself over to his lap, and placed a kiss on his lips "Yeah bed," she said seductively.

Don wrapped his arms around her and stood up, Jess slipped her legs around his waist and they continued to kiss as Don made their way to her bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5: Help

_**Chapter 5:**_

_**Help**_

Angell and Flack walked up to the pawnshop to pick up Eleanor Ravelle's guitar. "So how's Hawkes handling everything?" Jess asked as she pulled the door open

Flack shrugged his shoulders "No idea," he said as they walked up to the counter

"Detective Angell," Jess said showing the clerk her badge, "This is Detective Flack"

"We're here about that guitar," Flack said pointing to the 1957 Gibson gold top placed in the corner of the shop.

"I believe Officer Parker was already in contact with you regarding the guitar," Angell said

"Like I told that officer I paid for the guitar, it was more then a fair deal and without a court order I'm not giving it up," the clerk huffed

"You mean a court order like this," Flack said placing the court order on the counter.

The clerk snickered and Jess was sure he cursed under his breath before saying, "Fine take it"

"Thank you," Angell said putting a giant smile on her face, "Nice doing business with you"

They bagged the guitar and left the shop "You're drooling," Flack said as they made their way back to the car

"I'm holding…in my hand a 1957 Gibson Gold-top, it is a beauty," Angell said, "and I'm not drooling, I'm admiring"

Flack laugh "So do you play?" he asked

"Umm…what?" she asked

"Guitar, do you play?" he asked, "I mean you know what kind of guitar it is and you are drooling over it"

"I use to," Jess said, "Don't anymore"

"How come?" Flack asked, unlocking the doors to the Sedan

"Just don't," Angell said, "We should get this back to the lab for processing" she said putting the conversation to an end.

********************************************************************************************************************************

Jess rummaged through her desk looking for the bottle of ibuprofen she knew she had in there somewhere, her head was pounding and her shoulder was hurting from the dive she took on the subway chasing Trey Fager

"Hey, Angell," Flack said approaching her desk and interrupting her search "Get any thing?"

Jess passed him the files, "I found three victims of the Gramercy rapist that filed a separate robbery report"

"I found four," Flack said pulling a chair up to her desk

"Makes the total seven. So this guy was what? Collecting trophies," Angell said

Flack nodded, "I'm thinkin"

"Do you want me to take these files over to Stella?" Jess asked

"Nah, I'll drop it off on the way back from the ER" Flack said

"ER?" Jess asked already knowing where he was going.

'You hit your head…you could have a mild concussion," Flack said trying not to sound as overprotective as he felt.

Angell eyed him, "I've hit my head before without causing any permanent brain damage," she giggled

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Flack said mocking her

"Funny" Jess said, "I'm fine"

"A fine person wouldn't be looking in their desk for pills," Flack pointed out.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess let her eyes close; it had been a long day.

"Jess!" Don yelled at her as he walked back into the living room with the pizza.

"I'm awake…relax," Jess said

"If you have a concussion, you can't go to sleep," He said sitting on the couch next to her.

"I don't," Jess said sitting up for the pizza

Jess turned on the TV and they settled into a comfortable silence.

"So why don't you play guitar anymore?" Don asked after a few moments then added, "just curious."

Jess sighed, "You really want to know?" she asked

"Only if you want to tell me," He replied

Jess hesitated for a moment "My mom taught me to play, she was an amazing musician. After she died, the guitar was just a painful reminder so I stopped" Jess said

Don nodded his head in understanding "I was eleven," he said

"What?" Jess asked

"My mom died when I was eleven," He explained

"I was thirteen," Jess said, "Lung cancer which is ironic since she didn't smoke a day in her life"

"Mine, went down the street to the corner store for eggs and milk and was hit by an 17 year-old joy riding while crossing the street," Don said

Jess put her head on his shoulder, "Are you seriously going to keep me up all night?" she asked

"Probably," he replied as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they went back to staring at the TV in silence.　　　


	6. Chapter 6: Pillow Talk

_A/N: This is not my chapter based on the episode Rush to Judgment, it started out as that but it went some place else so this is going to be a filler chapter between the episodes help and rush to judgment._

**Chapter 6: Pillow Talk**

"First Kiss," Jess said. She was laid down on Don's chest wearing only her bra and underwear. It was three in the morning and she and Don were up talking.

"First kiss or first 'real' kiss?" Don asked as he traced circles around her arm.

"Both," Jess said moving her head up so she could look into his eyes.

"I was ten and at my buddy Mark Jenkins birthday party. Someone had the idea to play spin the bottle. My first turn it landed on Vanessa Royal, the hottest ten year old at the party. I walked over and kissed her on the lips, it lasted almost five seconds," he said grinning at remembering the memory.

"I bet you were the coolest after that," Jess laughed

"I was," Don grinned, "Ok, your turn"

"I was eleven. Me and my best friend Alex were up in the tree house. We were avoiding going inside, even though it was like 70 degrees out, because my brother, Andrew was in there making out with his girlfriend, Alex's sister. We were really bored so Alex suggested we should try it, just to see what the big deal was. So he kiss me, it was wet and weird and lasted maybe 10 seconds. When it was over we concluded our siblings were nuts and went and got ice cream," Jess said. Don laughed, "I've since changed my opinion by the way," she added.

"I figured," he said and leaned in for a kiss.

"So when was the first time it meant something?" Jess asked

"Umm…I was fifteen and a bunch of us were at the movie, The Exorcist 3." Don said

"I can't believe you remember the movie," Jess giggled, "Oh wait, wasn't that movie rated R," Jess interrupted

"We snuck in, stop interrupting or I'm going stop telling," Don said laughing

"Yes Sir," Jess said sarcastically

"So I was sat next to Melody Peterson, we were about half way through the movie when a particular bloody sick twisted part came on, Melody buried her head into my shoulder, I whispered in her ear when the scary part was over, when she looked up we kissed. After that we dated for about six weeks, when school ended for the summer we broke up," Don said. "Now your turn"

"Sixteen. My friend Cooper's dad owned a bowling alley that we all hung out at. Sometimes Cooper, Jillian and I would sneak in after hours for free bowling. But this night, Jillie couldn't go for some reason. So Cooper and I decided to go on, on our own. We were having a normal game, I had just bowled a strike and I was bragging how I was kicking his butt and next thing I know Coop`s lips were on mine," Jess explained, "We went out for 3 months before we broke up."

Don smiled, "So how many other breaking and entries did you do in your youth, Detective"

'Funny," Jess chuckled, "Actually, we didn't break in we had the key and the alarm code"

"Ok, my turn to ask the questions," Don said

Jess nodded, "Go ahead"

"Why did you decide to become a cop?" Don asked

"Two main reasons," Jess said, "I don't like being told I can't do something, I especially don't like being told I can't do something because I'm a girl. Women were not allowed on the force until 1973, did you know that?"

"I didn't know the exact year, no," Don said

"1973 was when women were allowed by law to join, but for a long time being a cop has been considered a male dominated career and women were not easily accepted on the force. So as child, I visited my dad at the station all the time. It was one of my favorite places to go. When I was six, I was there at the station sitting at my dad's desk and I took a look around and you know in 1981 there was not one female cop in homicide. I asked my dad why there were no girl cops …my dad's chauvinist pig of a partner went on to tell me girls can't be cops because girls are sensitive. I went on to tell him that I can do whatever I wanted and I was going be a cop just like my dad," Jess explained

"What did your dad say?" Don asked

"That I can do whatever I wanted," Jess said

"So what else?" Don asked

"It is in my blood, my grandfather, dad and two out of four of my brothers are cops," Jess said, "same question"

"It is in my blood," Don said, "I'm the oldest, I think my old man always wanted me to follow in his footsteps. Also, I wanted to prove to him that I was a man"

"Did you?" Jess asked

"I have no idea," he said. He looked down and caught Jess' eyes closing, "want to go to sleep now?" he asked

Jess nodded her head, "I'm suppose to run with Holly before my shift at 9"

"Go to sleep," Don said kissing her atop of the head and pulling her tight.

_A/N: I know in Pay up Jess' dad mentions that none of her brothers are cops but some things in my series are going to be different then the CSI NY season 5 storyline, especially for Pay Up__J_


	7. Chapter 7: Rush to Judgement

A/N: there is a part in this story that I took word for word from the episode…That's not mine, that's belongs CBS…I just burrowed it.

Rated:Mature for a little bit of sexual content

Chapter 7

Rush to Judgment

Don's hand reached out from the bed and slammed down on the alarm clock that was beeping. Jess cuddled her head into Don's chest "It's only 6, you always set the alarm too early" Don stated yawning

"I hit the snooze button a lot" Jess mumbled "You know I'm not a morning person"

Don smiled, he started to kiss the top of her head, he rubbed his hand up and down her back which sent cold shivers down her spine "I'm not going back to sleep, am I?" Jess asked

Don grinned "No need for snooze button this morning" he said letting his hand roam down to that tender spot and rubbed her underwear against her.

Jess moaned and flipped herself over so she was resting on top of Don; she placed her hand flat on the bed to use it as leverage and lead down to kiss him. He let his hands roam down from her back to Jess' hips, without breaking lip contact he hooked his thumbs into her sexy red and white thong and slipped them down over her. Jess sat up and lifted herself up a bit, so she could rid Don of his boxers.

Don took a hold of Jess' hips and maneuvered her so she could take in his erect penis.

They began to grind their bodies together, he kept a hold of her hips helping her move and he pushed deeper and deeper inside of her.

Jess rolled off Don when they were done, lying on his arm. Don took her hand in his "and you said you weren't a morning person" he said grinning.

* * *

Jess sat on her couch putting on her running shoes; she glanced at her watch 6:45. Holly would be at her place soon. Jess walked back into her bedroom and leaned against the door fame "I'm gone to meet Holly for our run" Jess told Don who had decided to go back to sleep when she had gotten up.

"Do I ever get to run with you?" he asked

"No, I run with Holly" Jess said "Plus you wouldn't be able to keep up with me" she said with an evil grin on her face

Don smiled "that's what you think" he said jumping up from the bed and taking off after her. Jess ran out of the room but she did not make it very far when she felt an arm slip around her, making them both tumble to the floor laughing.

'No fair" Jess pouted

Don lightly place a kiss on her lips and Jess wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her fingers roam through his hair and she deepened the kiss until the buzzer in her apartment went off signaling Holly was downstairs.

Jess and Don let each other go "that's Holy" she said

"I'm not liking Scott at the moment" Don said

Jess laughed, kissed him tenderly once more before getting up from where they fell "Use the spare key to lock up if you leave before I get back" Jess instructed "I'll see you at work" she said as she left.

* * *

Jess and Holly were almost half way around the outer loop of the park and for the past 3 miles, Holly had been giving Jess weird looks "What?' Jess finally asked when Holly glanced over again

"Nothing" Holly replied

Jess gave her friend a look "Something is bugging you" Jess stated "I've known you long enough to know when something is bugging you"

Holly slowed her running to an almost stop and took a deep breath "I don't know how to tell you this"

"Holls, it's me" Jess said giving her friend a look of concern "Talk to me"

"Just don't kill the messenger" Holly said "I've been hearing these rumors lately, about you and Detective Flack; a lot of the guys are talking"

"What kind of rumors?" Jess asked

"You know, rumors" Holly replied "I thought you should know what's going around the locker room, just wasn't sure how to tell you" and she quickly slipped in a "is it true"

Jess felt her heart tug, Holly was one of her best friends, they had been working together for four years now, since Jess made homicide and they instantly become friends and until this moment Jess had never lied to her. "Do you really think I would sleep with a co-worker, one that out ranks me to top it off" She asked at least she didn't out right lie to her, Jess told herself to make her conscience feel better…it didn't.

"No, but I had to ask and you needed to know what's going around" Holly said "You mad at me?"

"Did you start the rumors?" Jess asked

"No" Holly said smiling

"Then I'm not mad" Jess said "Come on, we still have 3 miles to go and I have to be at work by 9"

"And I'm going to sleep all day" Holly said laughing.

* * *

Jess walked out of the interview with IA, her mind racing. The dipstick had asked her about her relationship with Flack, her personal relationship, her mind wandered back to the conversation with Holly from that morning. Rumors in the locker room were one thing, but IA knew her business this meant it was more then rumors and the whispers had left the squad room and that scared her.

Jess spotted Don sitting at his desk so she walked over and leaned against it

"Say hello to the newest member of the rubber gun squad" Don said annoyed "I've been officially removed from active duty"

Jess felt for him, she hated that he was in this position, and she knew that he did nothing wrong during that interview with Todd Fleming, He would never use excessive force, not even with the lowest criminal, much less a kid. Jess licked her lips and took a deep breath

"How do they know we're seeing each other, Don?" Jess asked

"Who?" He asked

"Internal Affairs, I thought we were trying to keep this thing quiet. I didn't say anything to anyone, that only leaves you." Jess said

"People talk, they make assumptions" Don said

"Because of those assumptions now, my word doesn't mean squat with IA. I mean who could have told them?" Jess asked

"Look Jess, I'm sorry but I got bigger things to worry about right now then squad room gossip" Don said

"Right" Jess whispered and got up from his desk and walked away. Don looked back at his desk and tried to figure out what was up with her, Jess did not ask how he was doing nor did she tell him that she believed that he didn't do anything wrong and that hurt a lot. Don shook his head; he did have bigger things to worry about at the moment.

* * *

Jess and Danny started to drive to Flushing, Queens to interview Kyle Sheridan. It was very quiet in the car, Jess was just staring out of the window watching everything pass but not really paying attention, actually she was off in her own world. "Angell, what's up?" Danny finally asked

"Nothing" Jess said

"You let me drive" Danny said

Jess turned and looked at Danny "I wasn't in the mood to fight with you for the keys"

Jess answered and went back to staring out the window.

"I'm worried about him too" Danny whispered "But we'll solve the case and that will prove he didn't do anything, every now and then good prevails"

Jess smiled and nodded her head "I know and next time I drive" Jess said

* * *

Jess watched Flack with Mac, he was returning Flack's badge. Jess had just heard that Flack had been cleared of using excess force while questioning a suspect; Todd Fleming's death was just a tragic accident. Don looked back and saw Jess standing by her desk watching him. He wanted to go over there and talk to her but instead he found himself agreeing to go watch the Ranger's game with Mac.

Don stared at the game but he did not really see what was going on. Instead, all that he could see was the hurt expression on Jess' face as he left the precinct with Mac.

"I saw Jess earlier, she was worried about you" Mac said interrupting Don's thoughts

Don shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his beer "Doubtful" he replied

Mac rolled his eyes "You're an idiot" Mac told him

"Excuse me" Don said shocked

"We were all in your corner today…but Jessica Lillian Angell was your own personal cheerleader, today was the first day in four years that I've ever seen her scared or seen her show any sort of emotion" Mac said "so yeah you are being an idiot"

"You don't know…" Flack started to say

"I know she cares about you, I know you care about her" Mac stated it like it was a fact from a case

"You know?" Flack asked blushing

"I know a lot of things" Mac said smiling, he understood that Don would want to keep his relationship with Jess private and now he talked with him, Mac would pretend that he knew nothing romantically was going on between his detectives, it was O'Bryan's job anyhow. "Now, get out of here"

Don stood up and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket to pay for his tab "Thanks, Mac" he said heading out of the bar and outside to get a cab and headed over to Jess'

* * *

Jess walked into her apartment, the day was over finally. What had started out as a great day had quickly turned bad. She tossed her keys on the table, walked straight to her bedroom, and crashed onto her bed. "TODAY SUCKED" Jess thought to herself as she covered her head with a pillow and screamed into it to let out some of her frustrations.

Don slipped Jess' spare key into the lock and turned it letting himself in. He did not see her anywhere but he knew she was home. Therefore, he walked into the bedroom and saw her lying there still in her work clothes with a pillow over her head. Don walked over and took the pillow from her "What did I tell you about sneaking up on me, I'm still armed" Jess said annoyed

Don sat down at the edge of her bed and looked at her, not really sure, what to say…they had not exactly argued but a ripple had formed in their relationship today. They just sat there staring at each other for what seemed like forever until Jess finally gave in. "Don, look I'm not the supportive girlfriend type that says and does the right thing at the right time. Instead, I get caught up on stuff that isn't important but that doesn't mean I don't care or that I doubted you. I probably should have said that 7 hours ago" Jess rambledDon loved when she rambled "It's Ok" Don said

"Communication is not my strong suit; I blame it on the fact that I was raised by apes." Jess said grinning

Don laughed and moved up on the bed and laid down so that his head was right next to hers "I know you're in my corner and I should have took you more seriously this morning, that stuff is important…you're important" Don said

Jess smiled and Don wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled Jess into him, they stayed like that holding each other for a long time until Don broke the silence "So your middle name is Lillian"


	8. Chapter 8: She's Not There

Chapter 8:

She's Not There

Jess lay on the wooden bench in the locker room, she had her eyes closed and the sound of the rain bouncing off the pavement outside was not helping her stay awake. The door opened and Flack rounded the corner to his locker and spotted Jess "what are you doing?' He asked giving her a weird look.

"I just pulled a triple" Jess said "I haven't slept in 30 something hours so I'm waiting for the caffeine to be absorbed into my blood stream before attempting to drive home"

Don took his gun from his locker and hooked it on his belt "I have an 187 in time square, I can drop you off at your place" He suggested

"The caffeine will kick in, in a minute. I'll be fine…go ahead" Jess said

"Sure?' Don asked

"Yeah, I'm sure" Jess said yawning

"K" Don said leaning down to give her a kiss but Jess held up her hand stopping him.

"Not at work" She stated

"Jess, we're in an abandoned locker room" Don pointed out

"So not the point, here I'm a co-worker not your girlfriend" Jess said yawning

Don nodded "Ok, Detective" he said and started to walk away

"I'm planning on sleeping for the next 24 hours but you are more then welcome to come over after your shift" Jess said smirking

He smiled and opened the door to walk out of the locker room, the same time Nick Benton walked in "Flack, have you seen Angell?" Benton asked

"Yeah, she's lying on the bench next to her locker" Flack said

"It's not that strange" Jess called out. From where she lay, she could hear them talking and she could imagine the looks they were giving each other. Flack rolled his eyes and let the door close. Benton rounded the corner to where Jess lay and leaned against the lockers

"Want to ride with me?" Benton asked

"No, I'm off duty" she said

"I know; I saw it on the board that you were signed out but Rogers said you were still here and I thought you might want to ride with me?" Benton said

"No, I'm going home…" Jess started to say

"As soon as the caffeine kicks in" Benton finished

"You think you know me so well" Jess said

"I do….I have a 187 at 27 Crimson place" Benton stated

Jess sat up "I'm yours" she replied

* * *

Jess stood over Annabelle Jackson's body; Holly and Joshua were collecting evidence.

"They're not here" Nick said coming down the stairs.

"Whose not here?" Holly asked standing up from the body, Benton and Angell had been acting strange since they arrived at the scene "What is going on?"

"The kids" Jess said, "Marcus is eight and Charlotte is six"

"How did you know that?" Josh asked

"We've been here before" Benton answered

"Wait a second" Josh said, "If you know our vic then you can't work this case, it would be a conflict of interest."

"I know them because I have arrested her husband at least seven times for domestic abuse" Jess said "And at least four of those times were when I rode with Benton"

"I'm going to put an amber alert out for the kids" Benton told them

"Put out a bolo for Kevin too" Jess said. Benton nodded his head.

"Wait now, our vic is married to Kevin Jackson as in Senator Jarred Jackson's little brother" Holly asked

"Why do you think I've arrested the bastard seven times?" Jess said

* * *

Jess stood across from Kevin Jackson in the integration room "Are you going to ask me any questions, Detective or are you just going to glare at me?" Kevin asked

"Do you understand your rights?" Jess asked for the second time

"Yes, I have a right to a lawyer" he said in a cocky tone "but I'm not asking for one"

Jess took hold of the edge of the table, she needed to hold something to restrain her hands so she wouldn't jump across and strangle the SOB "What did Annabelle do this time?" Jess asked "Did she cook your breakfast wrong? Did she fold the sheets wrong? Or did she spend money on Charlotte's insulin without your permission? I mean it had to be something she did, she deserved to be beaten to death" Jess said putting a picture of Annabelle that was taken at the scene on the table.

"I loved Anna, I would have never hurt her" Kevin said

"Kicking the crap out of Anna on a daily basis; classifies as hurting her" Benton told him

"Tell me, why did we find you, packed up with the kids…ready to jump a flight to Cambodia? A country with no extradition laws, convenient time for a vacation." Jess stated

"Cambodia is a beautiful country and I want my kids to see the world" Kevin said "Anna wasn't much of a traveller"

"Don't say anything else, Kevin" Keith Parker said opening the door, "I've been retained to represent, Mr. Jackson"

"He didn't ask for a lawyer, Parker" Benton said

Sinclair walked in right behind Parker "This interview is over detectives, Mr. Jackson is to be released immediately" Sinclair instructed

Kevin smiled and got up "it was really nice to see you again, detectives" he said as he left with Parker.

"Sir, he's a flight risk" Jess stated as she followed Sinclair out of the room.

Benton saw Kevin leave the station with his kids and his lawyer "You're letting him take his kids" Benton said "He's abusive"

Sinclair turned around to look at Jess and Nick and he was fuming "You two are to stay away from the Jacksons. You had no right to interrogate Kevin; Senator Jackson has already warned me that the two of you have a vendetta against his brother. I'm not going to have a law suit of harassment on my hands….got me" He yelled

"You just let a killer walk out the door" Jess snapped "But hey, at least there won't be a law suit and you get to stay in the good graces of the Senator…that's all that really matters…who gives a darn about the law?"

"I should have both of your badges for insubordination" Sinclair yelled loud enough for O'Bryan to emerge from his office.

"Sinclair, do we have a problem?" O'Bryan asked quietly. However, it was too late all the bullpen was already staring at the scene unfolding.

Don and Danny had just returned to the precinct with Sammy Chen and Jody Sun. Don saw Jess and Benton standing there with Sinclair and O'Bryan and his curiosity was peaked. "Rogers, what's that all about?" Flack asked nodding his head towards the scene.

"Angell just handed Sinclair his balls" Shelby Rogers replied, she screwed up her face and added "You smell"

"Very funny" Flack said rolling his eyes as his attention went back to looked at O'Bryan

"I suggest that you teach your people some respect" Sinclair snapped

"You're right, they are my people and this is my house" O'Bryan said indicating the precinct "So if you have a problem with my people you come to me, I think I've earned that much, Brigham"

"Fine Peter, they are all yours but I better not have to come back down here again" Sinclair warned, he glared at Jess and Nick before turning on his heels to leave the station

"Benton, Angell my office now" O'Bryan ordered "And everyone else find something productive to do" he shouted at the bullpen.

* * *

"Have you two lost your minds?" O'Bryan yelled at them once they were in the privacy of his office "You must have…taking the Jackson case…stupid" He said pointing at Benton "You should have passed it off." Then he pointed to Jess "You should have left when you finished your triple 5 hours ago. Talking back to Sinclair…stupid. Arresting Kevin Jackson without any evidence…incredibly stupid."

"We didn't break any rules" Benton said

"Kevin's rights were read to him" Jess justified "Sinclair is just protecting him because of his ties with the Senator"

"Of course he is" O'Bryan said "You really think Sinclair made it to the chief of detectives' position without being able to play politics"

"You're good at playing politics too Sir" Jess said

O'Bryan leaned against his desk and folded his arms "I am" he replied "That's why I know that this case has to be handled delicately. We have to follow the book on this one; we cannot give anyone any room to question our outcome. Therefore, I cannot have you two working it" O'Bryan said. Jess and Nick started to protest but O'Bryan held his hand up and they stopped "You've arrested Jackson seven times and not once did any of the abuse charges stick….it looks like the two of you have a grudge, it will be better for the case if someone else works it. I will give it to either Flack or Rogers. This is not up for debate"

"Yes, Sir" Angell and Benton mumbled together

"Good, now go home." O'Bryan instructed

"What?" Angell said

"You heard me. I don't want to see either of your faces for the rest of this week" O'Bryan said

"But Sir" Benton started to protest

"Nicolas and Jessica!" O'Bryan yelled "Go home, take the weekend and enjoy the time off or I can put you on leave without pay and I will have to write up a disciplinal report that will end up on your permanent record, so take the darn time!"

"Yes sir" Jess and Nick said together

* * *

Jess pulled up to a red light she was heading home. Her mind was telling her that was the right thing to do, that O'Bryan was right she couldn't be involved in this case and she knew Don or Shelby were capable of running the investigation. However, her heart was telling her something different. The light turned green, Jess switch her foot to the gas and accelerated the car but instead of turning right at the following intersection which would have taken her home, she made a left and soon found herself in the parking structure of the lab.

Jess wasn't going to get out of the car, she was going to put the car back in drive and leave but instead she found herself taking the elevator upstairs and found herself heading down the hall to the trace lab. She went to open the door but Holly walked out and shut it behind her "Have you lost your mind?" Holly asked

"That seems to be the question of the day" Jess said

"Mac told us you were off the case." Holly said, "What are you doing here?"

"I just want to know where you are with the evidence," Jess said

"Well I can't tell you and you can't enter that room either unless you want the evidence to be immiscible, Parker is looking for any excuse" Holly stated. "Though it appears that you're determined to throw your career away, I'm not going to let you …I won't tell anyone you were here but you need to get the hell out of here because if O'Bryan found out you were here, he will have your badge"

"Ok, I'm going" Jess said, she started to walk away then she turned back around and gave Holly a smile "thanks Holls"

Jess walked down the hall, she was passing the break room when she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and pull her in. Danny closed the door and Flack let her go. "What the heck?" Jess asked

"Deputy Inspector Whitford is two doors down with Mac and Stella" Flack said "and you cannot afford to piss of another upper up"

"Have you lost your mind?" Danny asked

"Would people stop asking me that…I'm sane" Jess said getting annoyed

"Apparently not" Flack said, "O'Bryan told you to go home"

"Did he give you the Jackson case?" she asked

Don shook his head no "I'm still working the homicide from time square" he said

"I heard Mac tell Holly that O'Bryan was personally going to head the investigation" Danny said

"I have to go tell Mac what I found in our vic's suitcase" Flack said "Go home Jess before you get yourself suspended" he warned before leaving the room.

"So what's with you and this case?" Danny asked, "I mean you tell off Sinclair, you ignore O'Bryan's orders, it's not like you"

Jess shrugged her shoulders "I should get out of here before…" she started to say but the door open and O'Bryan walked in "it's too late"

Jess swallowed and took a deep breath waiting for O'Bryan to freak out but instead he passed her a piece of paper and said "here"

She looked down and couldn't believe her eyes "What's this?" she asked

"Angell, I would think you would recognize an arrest warrant when you saw one"O'Bryan said, "It was always your case; I shouldn't have been bullied into taking it from you. Go get Benton and finish it"

"Yes sir" Jess said and she headed for the door

"Oh one more thing, Angell" O'Bryan said Jess turned around and looked him in the eye

"Don't ever disobey my orders again, I'm not so forgiving the second time around" he warned

"No sir, I won't" Jess said leaving

* * *

Don turned the key in Jess' door, it was late and he was exhausted. The sex trafficking case was mentally draining; as well, he had been worried about Jess all day. Her case being personal and he knew how difficult those cases could be. He opened the door and was met by Jess in her running clothes "Want to run with me?" she asked

"Have you slept?" He asked

"Look, I've had a crappy day so I'm going for a run so that I won't go and down the 26er of vodka I have in the cupboard and I really could use the company" Jess said

"Just let me change" Don said. Jess nodded her head Ok.

Jess and Don ran and ran and ran until Jess felt her lungs beg for some relief. Jess stopped and let her self fall onto the grass. Don stopped right by her and bent over panting for oxygen. When Don was sure he could speak again, he sat down next to where Jess had laid and asked, "What happened with you today?"

Jess licked her lips and said, "I knew her. Annabelle, I knew her and the kids. Kevin was also my first arrest. I was a rookie as green as can be, my partner and I got the call for a domestic, I walk in and see a pregnant woman holding her son on her hip, the blood rolling down her face from where he had just punched her, and I wanted to rescue them. I arrested Kevin and he didn't even spend the night in jail. Through the years, Anna called me when she needed help, that's how Nick got involved I was with him one night when she called. Last time I saw Anna, she told me that if she ended up dead, Kevin killed her. Don, she wanted out and I tried to help her but she didn't have a prayer of getting out alive"

"It's not your fault" Don said, "We can't save everyone"

"I know that we can't but I took an oath to serve and protect, who did I protect today? Not Annabelle. Not Marcus. Not Charlotte. Not the innocent. Annabelle is dead; Kevin fled the country with the kids before I got a chance to serve the warrant. So Marcus will become the replacement punching bag and Charlotte has juvenile diabetes and he doesn't think that's a real disorder so god knows what's going to happen to them." Jess said feeling a tear forming her eye she when to wipe it away so he wouldn't see but she wasn't fast enough and Don reached out and wiped it away "its ok" he said pulling her into a hug "I'm your boyfriend now, not a co-worker. You don't need to be the tough guy with me"

Jess let herself crumble in his arms, she trusted him but she still hated feeling this vulnerable. After a few minutes, Jess pulled back and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve "I don't know what to do now" she admitted

"We're going to go back to your place, we're going to do one shot of that vodka then we're going to bed and you are going to sleep because you have now gone 40 something hours without sleep. Then tomorrow you are going to go to work like you do everyday and you will solve the next case. But you will keep looking for those kids. Because you are a good cop but mostly because you are a good person" he told her.

Jess smiled and Don stood up taking Jess by the hand and pulling her up. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and they started to walk back to her place. They rounded a corner and Jess felt a raindrop hit her shoulder followed by another. She looked up to the sky and let the rain fall down on her, feeling oddly at peace


	9. Chapter 9: Happy Valentine's Day

Chapter 9:

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Would you just pick something already?" Flack said frustrated

"You agreed to come" Danny pointed out

"Under false pretenses, you said you had tickets to the Knicks and yet we're in a jewelry store" Don said

"I told you; I had to stop and get Lindsay's valentine's gift before the game" Danny said

"You made it sound like you had to pick it up not out, this is the third jewelry store you've dragged me to, I just wanted to watch basketball." Don responded. Danny chose to ignore him and continued to browse through the displays hoping to find the perfect gift for Linds.

Don rolled his eyes at Danny and was about to point out the time when something sliver in one of the display cases caught his attention. "How much is that one?" Don asked the clerk.

"That's no good for Lindsay" Danny said

Don inhaled deeply "Not for you, for my girl" he said

"You're still seeing that bimbo?" Danny asked

"I'll take it" Don said paying no attention to Danny and passing the clerk his credit card and Danny walked out of the store "Please explain to me…How I ended up with nothing and you have a gift when I was the one looking" Danny said

"I don't know but either way we're heading to the game or I'm going home" Don told him.

* * *

Jess looked at her watch, 6:35...this was not good; she was supposed to be meeting Don at 7 for Valentine's Day. However, currently she was sitting in an interrogation room with the world's stupidest criminal but yet he was smart enough to request a lawyer. So now she had to wait for a pubic defender to show up before she could question him.

"Do you have some place to be?" Hawkes asked her, he had watched Jess look at her watch several times in the past ten minutes.

"Kind of" Jess said

"Hot Valentine's date?" Hawkes asked

Jess nodded her head "but its no big deal" she said

"Go ahead" Hawkes said "I can handle this myself"

"Nah, it's Ok" Jess said "It's my case, I should stay"

A knock came on the door and Benton poked his head in "Brian is the public defender on call tonight and he's at least an hour out….Happy Valentine's day" he said exiting again

"Still want to stay?" Hawkes asked

Jess looked at her watch again, 6:40 if she didn't leave now, she would have to call Don and cancel and although she thought Valentine's Day was overrated ….she really didn't want to cancel. "Are you absolutely sure, you don't mind me ducking out?" Jess asked

"I'm sure…I can handle this moron on my own" Hawkes said "Now get out of here"

"Hello!" the suspect said "I'm sitting right here"

Jess ignored the suspect…"OK, I'll owe you one" she said getting up and exiting the room.

* * *

Jess bolted into her apartment, she had literally five minutes to get ready. Jess started to strip her clothes as she made her way to her bedroom, in an attempt to save time.

Jess made it to the bedroom door when the front door opened "If you are planning on just wearing that" Don said referring to the fact that she was standing there in her panties and bra "You are going to be cold where we're going"

"Funny…and where would that be again?" She asked. Don had planned the evening but had refused to tell her what they were doing, he kept saying "It's a surprise"

"I hate surprises. I'm not ready, my shift ran long…sorry" Jess explained "So should I be worried that we're going be late for your surprise, I mean if you have reservations somewhere then there could be a problem"

"Don't worry, nothing is ruined" Don said "go get ready"

"And how should I dress?" she asked

"Stop interrogating me, I'm not giving you any details" Don said laughing "But jeans and a sweatshirt is suitable and dress warm"

Jess pulled a pair of dark blue jeans out of her closet and pulled them on then she grabbed a red tank top with lace on the bottom that she used for layering, pulled a plain white 3 quarter shirt over it and put her red zip-up gap hoodie on. She pulled her hair into a pony tail, took one more glance in the mirror and was happy with her appearance, so she walked out the bedroom. "What do you have there?" she asked

Don suddenly looked really shy "well, I have lilies for you" he mumbleJess grinned and walked towards him and took the flowers "blue lilies" She said and added "they are beautiful"

"Just like your tattoo" he said

Jess had a blue lily tattoo on her right ankle, she had gotten it when she was 20 in memory of her mother…her mom's favorite color was blue and her name was Lillian (but everyone always called her Lily), she had told Don all this a few weeks ago when he had tensed her about her middle name and she was beyond touched that he had brought her a dozen blue lilies. "I'm going to put these ia water then we can go" she said. Jess gave Don a kiss and said "thank-you" before going to look for a vase for the flowers.

* * *

Jess watched as Avery scored on Danis, her team was down by 3 points and they were in the last period with only five minutes. She could hear Don cheer with the rest of the ranger fans "Having fun?" he asked once the roar of applause had died down.

"The devils can still come back" Jess told him "I have faith in my team"

Don laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders "You need more then faith for the devils to come out of this one" he taunted

Jess ignored Don and went back to looking at the game, Clarkson got the puck and hit it at the net and Lundqvist went for it but missed "HA!" Jess said "Devils rule"

"Jess, they are still losing" Don said "I'm going to convert you yet"

"No way" Jess said "I've been a devils fan since I was a kid…I'm die hard"

The rangers scored again just before the buzzer went off ending the game with a 1-4 score, Don whispered in her ear "Good job you're cute because your taste in hockey teams suck"

"They do not" Jess said as they stood up and started to make their way out of the stadium

"What? No witty remark" Don replied

Jess stopped and pulled Don back towards her "Keep it up and that brand new black negligee, I got for tonight…well let's just say you might not ever see it and TRUST me, you want to see it…witty enough" Jess said grinning an evil grin.

"Shutting up now" Don declared

"Thought you might" Jess said laughing, she took his hand and they started to walk back to her place.

"All joking aside….did you have a good time at the game?" He asked

"Yeah, I had a great time…of course it would have been better if the devils hadn't gotten slaughtered" Jess said.

* * *

Don and Jess were cuddled together on her bed, the black negligee resting on the floor.

"I have something for you" Don said kissing the top of her head as he reached out and opened the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a long rectangle box wrapped in shiny red paper and passed it to Jess.

"I thought the game and the flowers were my gift" Jess said

"I'll let you in on a little secret; I really wanted to see the game tonight" Don said "That's your real gift"

Jess sat up and ripped the paper off, to reveal a gold box, she flipped it open "Oh wow, Don, it's stunning" she said lifting a sliver bracelet out of the box, the bracelet had little hearts all intertwined, Don took the bracelet from her hand and drape it around her wrist clasping it. Don leaned in for a kiss, Jess broke away "I have something for you too" she said

"That negligee was gift enough" Don said making Jess turn a deep shade of red.

Jess crawled out of the bed, wrapped her robe around her and went to her closest, got something from the top shelve and got back into bed. "This is for you" she said

Don opened the gift to find the Doctor Who DVD box set which included seasons 1-4 and a bottle of cool water cologne.

"Thanks Jess" Don said "You know you have to watch it with me now"

"Not tonight" Jess said taking the gift from his hand and setting it down on her night stand, she moved herself so she was straddling him "Happy valentine's day" she said letting her lips brush against his.

* * *

Jess walked into Sullivans, she looked around until she found the people she was supposed to be meeting. She walked over to the booth, Benton stood up so Jess could take a seat in the middle of him and Danny. Also at the booth were Don, Holly, Stella, Sheldon and Lindsay. "You're awfully late" Holly said

"Paper work" Jess answered "I couldn't get the case report to sound right"

"Have you been told that you're anal?" Benton asked

"Yes I have…by you on several occasions" Jess said

Nadine, the waiter came over with a round of drinks that had been ordered prior to Jess' arrival. "I brought the usual for you, Jess…that Ok?" Nadine asked

"That's great" Jess said reaching out for the beer as she did the bracelet slid down her wrist catching the attention of the girls.

"That's pretty" Lindsay said

"Um…yea, it was a gift" Jess stated shaking it back down her wrist, when she did Danny noticed and recognized it as the same bracelet Don had purchased for his bimbo…Danny gasped as the brain waves in his head connected, putting two and two together. Don had already realized what was about to happen so when he saw the light go on in Danny's head, he moved his foot ever so slightly and kicked Danny and shook his head, hoping Danny would keep his big mouth shut.

"You Ok there, Messer?" Jess asked

"Yea, I'm fine" Danny said

The girls brought there attention back to the bracelet and with a lot of coaxing and prying, they got as few details as possible from Jess about the giver, until Don finally decided to rescue her with a game of pool.

Don leaned over the pool table for his shot; he took one look around to make sure no one was listening before he whispered "Danny knows"Jess' raised her brow "how?" she asked

"He was with me when I bought the bracelet" Don answered

Jess shrugged her shoulders "Maybe it's because I'm tipsy but I don't care anymore"

Don beamed and took his shot.


	10. Chapter 10: The Party's Over

Chapter 10:

The Party's Over

Jess stood outside the ATM around the corner from the precinct; she stared at the receipt that showed her balance…$152.48, she had $152.48 in her account. She didn't know if it was best to cry or laugh at this point. Jess sighed…the pay lapse the city had enforced on the NYPD had to end soon.

She shoved her debit card in her back pocket along with the statement and the 20 (the reason for the detour) and headed across the street to the outdoor café called Blue Green. Jess glanced around until she saw a familiar face, he waved and Jess walked over and sat down at the table "hey Eric" she said

"Hey, little one…it's been awhile" Eric said

"Arg! Am I ever going to out grow that one?" she asked

"You'll have to take it up with Drew" Eric said

The waiter walked over and took their orders. "How's the clinic?" Jess asked once the waiter left

"Hectic as usual" Eric said, "How are you doing?"

"I'm ok" Jess answered

"So what do you need?" Eric asked, he always could read her like a book.

"A huge favor" Jess said

***********************************************************************

Don and Danny made their way from the precinct and headed down the street to the coffee cart for some sensible coffee. "So you and Angell huh?" Danny asked as he gave a chuckle.

Flack rolled his eyes "Can we just be men and not gossip" he pleaded

Danny shook his head no but didn't get a chance to continue with the subject, "The entire precinct is talking about taking action if we soon don't get paid, what's the lab saying?" Flack asked hoping the change of subject meant Danny would drop the Jess topic.

"Yea, I've heard a few people talk about calling in sick in order to protest. It's been dubbed the blue flu by the brass but no one has had the balls to do it YET" Danny said

"But don't think that I've dropped the Angell thing….speaking of which isn't that her over there at the Blue Green sitting with that guy"

Don looked over to where Danny was pointing and recognized Jess right away, his face flinched and his heart sank. "Yea, that's her" He said

Danny caught Don's expression "it could be innocent, man…she has like four brothers it could be one of them.

"Messer, that guy is Korean" Don said

"Still could be innocent," Danny stated, "Just don't jump to conclusions until you get all the facts…..Jess is not some bimbo, you care about her."

************************************************************************

Jess stood in an empty precinct, the blue flu had officially started.

"Angell" O'Bryan called from his office "Not feeling any flu like symptoms?"

"Not yet Sir" Jess said. Truth was she was still on the fence about the whole thing. She believed that what her fellow NYPD co-workers were doing was right. It was wrong for the city not to pay them. On the other hand, her dad's voice rang through her head, "_being a cop is full of sacrifices, it's a courageous and honorable job. So if you're going to take that oath you better take it seriously" _If Jess stood up with the rest of the NYPD, she knew her dad would never let her live it down and she did take the oath very seriously. However, she also believed standing up like this was honorable and courageous and she had to make the decision for herself.

"Good because I'm desperate" O'Bryan said, "I have you and Flack and a few uniforms.

Flack is running the deputy mayor's murder, big priority. I need you to do the grunt work…OK?"

"I think doing grunt work ever so often is good for the soul…keeps you grounded" Jess said smiling as O'Bryan passed her slips of papers with various complaints and things to check out.

Jess returned to the precinct four hours after O'Bryan had sent her out, she was tired and not in a good mood. She no longer thought grunt work was anything more then grunt work. She spotted Flack and O'Bryan talking and strolled towards them "this has got to end" she said

"You're telling me" O'Bryan declared

"Who's the kid?" Jess asked pointing to the young boy sat on the bench

"Apparently, he's waiting for an Adam" Flack answered

Jess' phone went off so she excused herself for a second and answered it:

"_Are you working?" Her father's voice came through the phone_

"_Yes, I'm at work now…why?" Jess asked_ she already knew where this conversation was going, her dad was retired from the force but he still had close connections, therefore, he always knew what was going on, on the inside. Although, the blue flu had been reported on the media, what the news reports and the truth isn't always the same.

"_You shouldn't be" Cliff said_

"_What?" Jess said, she didn't see that one coming_

"_Its not right Jess, we deserve better. I expected you to be one of the ones to stand up" he said and added "But it's your choice" _

"_I would have" Jess explained, "I only came in today because I didn't want to disappoint you"_

"_Little one, you could never disappoint me" he said "do what you think is right, follow your heart…it will guide you in the correct direction"_

"_Thanks Dad. I got to go but I'll call you this weekend" Jess said _flipping her phone shut and walking back over to O'Bryan and Flack.

Jess bit her lower lip "O'Bryan, I think I'm coming down with something, I should probably head home" She said.

"I've been waiting all day for you to get sick" O'Bryan stated

"I'm sorry…I don't want to do this to you sir but I have to" Jess said and started to walk away.

"Angell, wait up" Flack called. Jess stopped and turned to face him.

"How can you walk away?" He asked

"I'm not walking away, I'm doing what I believe is right" Jess said

"You're wrong…this isn't the right thing" He said his voice getting higher with rage

O'Bryan came over "Angell, if you're leaving, go, I don't have time to deal with whatever is going on between the two of you" he said

"Nothing is going on" Jess said, she was sure she saw hurt flicker in Don's eyes but this wasn't the time so she flicked her hair over her shoulders and headed out of the station.

************************************************************************

Jess sat on her couch watching the news. The blue flu was still in full affect with no resolution in sight. Jess shook her head, this utterly blew.

A light knock came on the door; she wrapped a blanket over her shoulders, hoping to look sick just in case. When she opened the door, Don was on the other side.

"Did you forget where the spare key is or something?" she asked moving aside so he could come in.

"No, I just felt like knocking tonight" Don saidJess gave him a look, moved back over to the couch, and sat Indian style "Are you really mad at me for doing what I think is right?" she asked

"No, I respect your decision about the blue flu. You had to do what was right for you" he said "But Jess, I need to know something"

"Sure" Jess said

"Are you in this?" Don asked

"I'm confused, where did that come from?" Jess asked

"Yes or no" Don said

"If you really have to ask me that then.." Jess said shocked

"I saw you today at Blue Green with that guy and you denied us to O'Bryan….I want a straight answer, are you in this?" he asked

"You saw me with Eric" Jess said, she got up walked into her bedroom and came back with a photo album and sat back down. She flipped it open "that's Andrew" she pointed to a brown hair, brown eyed guy in the photo "he's my brother and next to him is Eric…his life partner" she explained "and I met with him today because I needed to ask for money, not exactly a high point."

Don suddenly felt really stupid "and I didn't tell O'Bryan today because he looked like he was ready to have a stroke, with the blue flu I just didn't think it was the right time, I'm in this" Jess said

"I'm an idiot" Don said

"I know" Jess stated "But in your defense, if I saw you with some chick, I would have been jealous too"

"You should have told me you were having money trouble" Don said

"I have pride" Jess said "and you would have offered to help and I don't want that"

Don nodded his head "You're Ok now?" he asked

"I'll be fine" Jess said

"I have to head back but I'll swing back later" he said

"K" Jess agreed

************************************************************************

Jess made her way back into the precinct; the blue flu had ended…Finally!

She made her way over to Flack's desk and leaned against it "Hey" Flack said

"Hi" Jess replied, she licked her lips and took a deep breath "I'm not ready to come clean with O'Bryan, but if you need me to, I'll march into his office right now." she whispered and held up her hand so he couldn't respond immediately "but before you say anything, I just came from breakfast with Holly"

Don chuckled, she had told Holly which meant more then if Jess had stood up in the middle of the bullpen and announced it…. "Your paper work is piling up" he said

"Oh and you dropped this" Jess said placing a sliver key on his desk. He recognized it as her spare key that she kept hidden behind the fire extinguisher.

"Jess" Don said "I didn't mean to put pressure on you the other night"

"It's alright" Jess said, "I'm in this but right now I got to go do that paperwork"


	11. Chapter 11: No Good Deed

Chapter 11:

No Good Deed

Jess' head rested on Don's shoulder, they laid in each other arms on Don's bed, the wind howled against the window as the snow continued to fall. Jess pulled the blanket further up so she could snuggle down for the storm "Number nine across, the most popular search engine in 1997...that's AltaVista" Jess said

"Let's see if you're right" Don said, counting to see if it fitted "You're correct…it fits"

"I know" Jess said laughing "I'm always right"

"No, you just think that" he said sarcastically

Jess scooted up and started to kiss Don's neck "Let me tell you a little secret Donnie, women are always right" Jess said

Don chuckled and tenderly pushed her over on her back and climbed on top of Jess and positioned himself so she was pinned. Then he dug his fingers into Jess' sides, where he knew she was ticklish.

"Don't Don don't" Jess said between giggles as she tried to squirm out of his grasp.

"Um….just say men are always right, Jessie" Don said gently digging his fingers deeper into her ribs

"Ne-ha-ver" Jess managed to get out between fits of laughter, she tried in vain to free herself but Don was stronger then her. His tickle attack didn't stop, he continued to tickle her until she finally gave in "Fine, I surrender" Jess stated

Don laughed and moved his hands to roam through her hair and brushed his lips against hers "See that wasn't that difficult" he said smirking

"You will pay for that" Jess warned lifting her head and pushing her lips against his; Don opened his mouth letting her tongue slip in.

"Oh, you're right….that was such torture" Don said sarcastically against her lips.

************************************************************************

"So how long have you been banging Flack?" Holly asked rising her eyebrow and grinning as she and Jess ran the fifth lap around the tiny track located in the basement of the precinct.

"Lower your voice" Jess warned "Benton and Rogers are right there on the exercise bikes"

"I told you, we should have ran in the park" Holly said "You knew the Flack topic would come up"

Jess sighed "it is freezing out and it snowed last night, I'm not running in a cold park when we have a nice warm place here" she said glaring at her friend

"Whatever! You didn't answer my question. Do I have I to ask it again?" Holly told her

"Why did I tell you again?" Jess asked frowning at her

"Because you love me" Holly replied

"Not at the moment" Jess retorted

"Seriously, how long?" Holly asked again. Jess blushed and her whole face lit up of the thought of the past four and half months with Don. "Oh my god! You're not just screwing him, you've went and fallen for him"

"I wouldn't say that. I mean we're not just fooling around but you've jumped the gun with that assumption" Jess said giggling like a twelve year old girl over her crush.

"Oh boy! You are in trouble. I thought you two were just scratching the itch. Dating a co-worker is complicated, Jess" Holly stated

"But fucking them is not?" Jess asked

"No, sex is just sex but when feelings get involved, it means trouble. Look at Danny and Lindsay" Holly replied

"Oh you mean the cute couple who are having a baby in a couple of months" Jess remarked "yeah, you're right, feelings really screwed them over"

"Before that it was complicated and having a baby doesn't make everything all rainbows and puppies" Holly said

"Ok, Miss Cynical." Jess said rolling her eyes "And what do you have against rainbows and puppies?"

************************************************************************

Jess walked into the lab, the day had been pretty slow so she was taking the opportunity to revisit the evidence on the Jackson case, she still hadn't given up on finding the kids. In addition, she needed to see Stella about their undercover operation. Jess made her way down to the break room with two coffees and a blueberry muffin in her hand. "Hey

Linds." Jess said entering the break room

"Hey, Angell" Lindsay said looking up from her laptop "is one of those coffees for me?" she asked hopefully. Danny had become very overprotective of Lindsay lately and had been 'trying' to get her to stop drinking coffee so Jess had taken to bringing her a cup whenever she dropped by the lab.

"Yes and so is the muffin" Jess said

"You really are an Angel" Lindsay said laughing

Jess smiled "Lame." she stated

"I know" Lindsay stated "but I'm pregnant so I get away with it"

Danny walked into the room "Linds, not more coffee. Our kid is going have two heads" Danny declared

Lindsay laughed, she couldn't help it. It wasn't really funny but it was all at the same time.

"It is not going to have two heads" Jess said rolling her eyes

"And I guess you're the coffee culprit" Danny said to Jess

"Very good, detective. Would you like to arrest me" Jess asked with a snicker

"Very amusing" Danny responded

"Look if you really want me to stop bringing her coffee I will" Jess said. Lindsay mouthed the word no to Jess "But I've learned after spending time with three pregnant sister-in-laws, the best thing is to keep the crazy hormonal pregnant lady happy"

"She's right you know" Lindsay said

Danny chuckled despite himself. Don and Stella walked into the break room.

"I've said it before… I'm always right" Jess stated very smugly and looked at Don

"What's so funny?" Don asked looking at Jess and sticking his tongue out just between his teeth so she could see but no one else could.

"Nothing, just brought Linds coffee" Jess said

Stella looked at the coffee and screwed up her face "I wasn't sure before but now I know I'm turned from coffee for awhile. This is not good" she said

Danny, Don and Lindsay cracked up. "I don't get it" Jess said

"An eyeball fell out of the sky this morning and into Stel's coffee" Don said

"An eyeball" Jess repeated "like an animal's eyeball"

"No like a human's eyeball" Danny said "then we found his body buried in his roof garden, well what was left of it after the vultures got at him."

Jess bit her lip "That's just wrong. I get paperwork today and you guys get an eyeball…not fair" she said.

************************************************************************

Jess walked into Stella office a short while later. "Hey, Stel" Jess said

"Oh, hey Jess" Stella replied "How's the search for the Jackson kids going"

"Not good" Jess said "I still haven't found them and I have no clue how I'm going to get them back to the states when I do.

"Sorry" Stella said "If you want some help, you know where I'm to"

"Thanks" Jess said "Actually I wanted to talk to you about our little operation."

"Ok" Stella said cautiously

"Don't worry, I'm not backing out" Jess said

"I knew the difference of that" Stella replied

"I was talking to Stan today; he'll have coins ready in two weeks." Jess said "So I was thinking about contacting Kolovos, make sure he's still interested, let him know that the coins are on the way"

Stella thought for a second "I think we should wait until we have the coins" Stella said "I don't want to put you in any more danger then necessary"

"Don't worry about me." Jess said "I can handle myself"

"That I know" Stella said "Alright contact Kolovos but take a uniform with you for backup. I can't get out of this case without a really good excuse, Mac will suspect something is up"

************************************************************************

Jess strolled up to apartment 523 with a freshly packed over night bag on her shoulder. She reached into her pocket for her keys and beamed at the newly added brass key on her key ring. She opened the door and walked in dropping her bag by the door. Jess heard the water running which signaled that Don was in the shower and an idea popped into her head. Jess turned the bathroom doorknob and tiptoed in. She loosen her hair, pulled off her clothes, pulled open the shower curtain and climbed in.

Don grinned and pulled Jess into his arms. Jess stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his. Don pulled back a little bit and said "Gee, Jessie…there you go with the torture again"


	12. Chapter 12: Green Piece

Chapter 12:

Green Piece

Jess rushed into the locker room and glanced at her watch, she was running late as usual. However, it wasn't her fault that court had ran behind schedule. To make things worse, her testimony against Michelle Jones (the cheating wife who killed her husband, Brandon, because they had a prenup) had got pushed back, so now she had to wait until tomorrow to testify in the case.

"Whoa Angell, where's the fire?" Don asked smugly when he saw Jess race up to her locker. His shift had just ended and he was getting ready to head home. His stomach growled reminding him how hungry he was, but luckily for him, Jess had already agreed to cook tonight. He was looking forward to a quiet evening with her, maybe they could finished their Doctor Who marathon they had started the past weekend.

"I'm so late" Jess said swinging her locker door open and pulling off her suit jacket and tossing it in.

"For what?" Don asked, he took a look around to make sure they were indeed alone before adding "I thought we were just going to relax at my place tonight"

"Oh Crap, I forgot that we had plans" She said pulling out an outfit of clothes to change into.

"What did you make plans with someone else or something?" He asked jokily but serious at the same time.

"Yes" She said with a half smile "With Stella, Holly, Kendell, Shelby and Lindsay…well Lindsay doesn't know yet. Stella decided this morning at Tilley's that we should throw Lindsay a baby shower before she goes to Montana. However, we don't have time to plan one since she's leaving on Thursday, so we figured we would take her to Wolfgang's for good food and girl talk. Leave the cutesy shower stuff for her mom." Jess explained "And Stell made reservations for 7 and it's 6:40 so I have 20 minutes to get ready, get to the lab as it is my job to get Lindsay there and get across town"

"Have fun with that" Don said

"Thanks" Jess said reapplying her lip gloss then she grabbed her brush and yanked that through her hair. Jess then walked towards Don, invading his personal space "I'll drop by later, and I promise I'll make it up to you" she whispered in his ear

A shiver ran down his spine and he wrapped his arms around her waist "and how are you going to do that?" he asked, leaning in to her and placing butterfly kisses on her neck.

"Use your imagination" Jess said seductively "There is still some of that whipped cream left"

************************************************************************

"Jess, what are we doing here?" Lindsay asked as Jess pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. "I thought you were giving me a ride home since Danny left" she said with an annoyed tone.

Jess sighed, she hadn't been able to come up with a convincing story as to why Linds needed to go with her, so she had literally made Danny leave the Lab without her, making

Lindsay mad but also in need of a ride "I ordered take out" Jess said, shaking her head knowing it sounded lame.

"Well I'll wait here" Lindsay stated

"Get out of the car" Jess said "I'm out of excuses…so just do it" and then added "please"Lindsay gave her a look "Are you sure…you're not the crazy hormonal person" she said laughing as she opened the door to the car.

"Very cute" Jess replied.

They walked into the restaurant, Jess spotted Stella and the girls already sat to a table

"Come with me" Jess said pulling Linds towards the table

"What's going on?" Lindsay asked seeing everyone sat there

"Surprise!" Everyone said together

"Baby shower" Jess explained

Lindsay looked around at all her girlfriends and her eyes started to fill with tears.

"Yeah, I'm certain you're the hormonal one" Jess stated

************************************************************************

"You guys really shouldn't have done all this" Lindsay said looking at Jess and Stella. The other girls had to leave early because they were all on the nightshift this week.

"We really didn't do much" Stella said "The cooking staff here did all the work"

"Well it was a lot of work getting you here" Jess said smirking

Lindsay laughed "Sorry. Do you know she made Danny go home without me…that was her genius plan" Lindsay said

Stella chuckled…"Yea, and he didn't want to leave even after I explained the reason why. Thank goodness Mac took pity on me and ordered him to leave" Jess said shaking her head "I'm pretty sure Hawkes and Don are still laughing at me"

Stella and Lindsay gave each other a look "Don?" Stella said "Since when do you use his first name?"

Jess blushed and shrugged her shoulder "I call you two by your first names all the time, it's no different for Flack" she said

"It is different" Lindsay said "Stella and I know by the way. About the two of you"

Jess sighed "I guess there is reason to play dumb or deny" she said "so who else knows besides Danny, Mac and Holly?"

"The guys at the station are still clueless" Lindsay said "as well as Adam, Hawkes and Sid."

"But" Stella said "According to Mac, O'Bryan is starting to wonder; so just a bit of friendly advice: report it before O'Bryan figures it out on his own; that way your asses are covered"

"Thanks" Jess said "How did you two find out?"

"Danny told me" Lindsay said "I love him but he has a big mouth"

Jess nodded "And I thought there might be something when we worked on the Rooney case, I was sure after the incident with Tom Fleming " Stella stated

A short while later, they had dissected Jess and Don relationship, questioned Stella about her 'real' relationship with Mac (although Lindsay and Jess didn't get far with that) then they moved on to Danny, Lindsay and the baby. "He asked me to marry him you know" Lindsay admitted

Jess and Stella stared at Lindsay "Wow…when?" Jess stammered

"Months ago when I first told him about the baby" Lindsay said

"But..." Stella said waving her hand for her to continue.

"He only asked because of the baby back then. I didn't want to force him into anything.

It's not like it's 1970 or something I don't need a ring" she replied

"But you want one" Jess said "you're traditional"

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders "I always thought that I would be married before I had kids but plans change and I'm okay with that" she said

"You just said back then though" Stella said "Are you reconsidering? Do you think he's changed?"

Lindsay hesitated, she believed Danny had changed, the Danny Messer she knew before wouldn't have read comics to her stomach but she still wasn't sure if he was ready to be both a husband and a father, throwing the father thing at him was big enough.

"Ok, I know I don't know much about your history with him. .But I know he is super excited about the baby and he is so in love with you. We were driving uptown yesterday to serve a warrant and got stuck in rush hour traffic; for 45 minutes and all he talked about was you and the baby. And our usual conversations revolve around him poking fun at my team choices." Jess said "or shop talk"

Lindsay beamed despite herself.

*******************************************************************

Jess walked out of the courtroom, feeling irritated. The judge had just called for another recess while he called the lawyers to his chambers. If she didn't testify today, she was seriously going to scream. She sat down on the bench outside, this trial was turning into a three ring circus.

"Hey, Angell" she heard her name being said and looked up to see Benton standing in front of her.

"Hey Benton, what brings you here?" She asked

"Lunch with Leslie" He said. Jess nodded her head. Benton's wife, Leslie was an attorney. "You look annoyed as hell" he said.

"This case, I was supposed to testify yesterday and I'm here today…still waiting." She said

"You've been here all day?" He asked. Jess nodded her head.

"So you haven't heard about the explosion that occurred this morning?" Benton asked

"No, I haven't" Jess replied

"And that Ross kid was standing near by when the bomb went off" Benton said

"What" Jess said jumping to her feet "Is he OK?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine" Benton said"You might want to mention that part first" Jess snapped feeling her heart beat rise.

Benton gave her an apologetic look. "Yeah, Yeah" Jess said as her pager went off letting her know that court was about to start again.

"Sully's tonight" Benton called after her.

************************************************************************

The bartender, Patrick, passed Jess two more beers, she smiled her gratitude and headed back to the table. She passed one of the beers to Don and sat down to listen to Adam retell his story. After he was done, the conversation moved to the four people missing.

"Where is Stella anyhow?" Jess asked "She called me earlier, she said she had a surprise or news or something"

"She just showed up" Don said pointing to Stella entering the bar, followed by Mac, Danny and Lindsay, they made their way over to the shared hellos and they joined them, Jess took in the smile on Lindsay's face, she looked so happy, happier then Jess had seen her in a very long time. "Linds, I didn't expect to see you here tonight since you're leaving tomorrow" Jess said suspiciously

"I hadn't planned to, but plans change" Lindsay said, licked her lips and hesitated for a second, Danny took a hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze of support "I…we wanted to…we got married" she blurted out

Everyone congratulated the couple, there were lots of hugs for Lindsay, and lots of slaps on the back and hands shakes for Danny. "Ok, Patrick has nothing to use for a toast" Jess said slipping back into her seat "So we've improvise" she passed a shot of tequila to everyone sat around the table.

"Shots?" Danny asked

"Got a better idea" Jess said "I just got water for you Linds…best I could do."

"It's OK" she said accepting the shot glass of water.

Stella stood up rising her shot glass, everyone followed suit. "I could say something heart warming and make Lindsay cry, but I'm going to make this simple. Danny and Lindsay, you guys are so right for each other and we're all so glad that the both of you finally realized that." Stella said grinning "and I got to say, I don't think I've ever seen either of you look happier, to the Messers." The click, click sound of glasses hitting each other filled the bar.


	13. Chapter 13: Point of No Return

Chapter 13

Point of No Return

Jess walked up to apartment 523 and sighed. Her day was….interesting, was probably the best word to describe it. She leaned her back against the door, she let out a groan and rubbed her hand over her face, she was really starting to think she was in over her head with the Kolovos/Diakos thing. After finding Diakos murdered with Greek coins placed over his eyes, it had made her wonder what exactly she and Stella had gotten themselves into.

The solid door that was currently keeping her standing up suddenly opened and Jess lost her balance falling backwards into the apartment. Luckily, Don was quick enough to catch her before she hit the ground. "Hi" Jess said feeling slightly embarrassed.

"I thought I heard you outside, what were you doing?" he asked giving her a confused expression.

"It's been a weird day" Jess replied standing up "Yum…something smells good" she commented as the sweet smell of something floated across her nose and gave her an opportunity to change the subject.

"I'm making macaroni and cheese" he replied heading back towards the followed, she opened the refrigerator door for a beer then she walked back and jumped up on the counter "Comfort food" she said "Bad day?"

Don stirred the macaroni before walking over to where Jess was sat, he moved in and pushed his lips onto hers, wrapping his arms around her neck. "It blew" Don said against her lips.

Jess leaned her head against his, "Want to talk about it?" Jess asked. She had ran into Sid earlier and he appeared shaken up. He told her all about Marty Pino, and how he had been killing addicts in order to make drugs from their organs. She really felt for Sid, to see a friend become that, must really suck.

"It's nothing" Don said

Jess eyed him "Come on Don, you can talk to me" she said

"I know" he said kissing her again "but I'm fine"Jess rolled her eyes at him, she was used to hearing the word fine from the men in her life, it was a common word that her brothers' and dad used, however, fine could indicate anything from I'm ready to jump off the balcony to I'm on cloud had a feeling it was the same thing for Don.

How about you?" Don asked interrupting her thoughts "You were MIA for awhile"Jess stuck her tongue inside her cheek and hesitated for a second "I think I'm in way over my head" she said

"Want to talk about it?" he asked

"Depends" She said taking a sip of her beer "Only if I'm talking to Don, my boyfriend and not Flack the tough homicide detective that outranks me" Jess said "And don't yell"

"Does this have anything to do with Stella and the Greek case from months ago?" he asked

Jess bit her lip "You're talking to your boyfriend" Don added "here, I'm always your boyfriend first"

Jess beamed "Stella and I have set up an undercover operation to trap Kolovos, in hopes he will led us to Diakos" she said "Today we carried out our plan. We got an address for Diakos in Jersey City. However, when we got there Diakos was lying dead, murdered with coins on his eyes. Stella said it was some sort of Greek tradition"

Don took in everything Jess had just told him; he wanted to flip out with her but figured that might not be the best way to approach this. "What did you do after you discovered the body?" he asked

"Stella made an anonymous 911 call" Jess said "and I was talking to her like an hour ago and Mac has taken over the investigation. He's planning on handling this one personally. And did I mention that he told Stella at the beginning to step down and we kinda ran this sting without his permission"

"Jess" Don said

"See, over my head" Jess said "But I'm not walking away, I told Stella I was in and I'm not going to back out on her now"

Don shook his head "You have to go to O'Bryan; you have to clear this up with him. So when this blows up and it will, he has your and Stella's stupid asses covered" he said

"this is not something you want to keep from him"

Jess bit her lip again, the last thing she wanted was to tell O'Bryan "You need O'Bryan to have your back on this" Don told her again "and can I just add how incredibility stupid this whole thing was?"

"Are you still talking as my boyfriend?" she asked jokily

"Yes, if I was Flack, I would be yelling right now. However, Jessica, I don't like it. I don't like that you've put yourself in danger. I don't like it at all" Don said "Go to O'Bryan first thing in the morning"

************************************************************************

Jess never saw O'Bryan look so mad, he had yet to yell but the vein in his head looked like it was about to burst. She had just told him everything and now she was wishing she hadn't. She felt like she betrayed Stella and was sure she was about to be fired.

"Angell, Angell" he said shaking his head "I don't know what you and Bonasera were thinking"

"We were thinking that this operation could get a murderer off the streets. We were thinking we could get the person that attacked and almost killed Stella. I know I should have came to you in the beginning and I'm sorry but I still think we did the right thing" Jess said

"Doing the right thing while breaking I don't know how many rules." O'Bryan said, he sighed.

"Does this mean you won't have my back?" Jess questioned

"I always have my detectives back. I just like to be kept in the loop when they break the rules" O'Bryan said smiling "But I can't guarantee I can protect Bonasera, I'll try but she's Mac's responsibility, you're mine"

"Please do whatever you can" Jess said and added "Can we keep working it?"

"Yes" O'Bryan said

Jess smiled and got up to leave "Angell" O'Bryan said. Jess turned to face him "is there anything else you need to tell me, to keep me in the loop"

"Not today, sir" Jess said "maybe tomorrow"

************************************************************************

"Oh My God, Izzie just cut Denny's wire" Don said

Jess laughed, "Is someone getting into the show?" she asked. They were curled up together on Don's couch watching Jess' Grey's Anatomy DVD sets since she had suffered through four seasons of Doctor Who, it was now his turn to return the favor.

"I still say it's a chick show" Don replied

"That you're just watching to get laid" Jess chuckled

"Yep" Don replied "How did it go with O'Bryan?"

"Don't let this go to your head but you were right" Jess said "He needed to know and our butts are covered now"

Don laughed, "I remember telling you once men are always right"

"Yea, that didn't go to your head" Jess said sarcastically

He laughed again, Jess looked up into his eyes "Since you're always right, what do you think about going public?" she asked


	14. Chapter 14: Communication Breakdown

_A/N: Just a heads up that although I wrote French in this chapter, I don't speak it at all so I used an online translator, which translates word for word, so hopefully it makes sense._

Chapter 14:

Communication Breakdown

Jess rested on her stomach, she let out a moan as Don's fingers rubbed gentle circles up and down her spine. Don smiled "Feel good?" he asked

"Uh-uh" Jess mumbled.

Don finished massaging the muscles along her spine then he worked his hands back up towards her shoulder blades. He found a couple of knots along the way and he very tenderly begun to run circles around the area with the pad of his thumbs. "You have a lot of knots in your back" Don stated "Is something stressing you out? Something like telling O'Bryan about us tomorrow"

Jess giggled "Telling O'Bryan was my idea, remember" Jess replied

"It was your idea a week ago" Don said "Then you chickened out"

"Ha-ha" Jess said, "I did not chicken out, it is not my fault that I haven't been at the station much this past week"

"Right" Don said sarcastically

"It's not" she insisted. Jess flipped herself so she was now resting on her back with Don straddling her, Jess took a hold of his shirt and pulled him down to met her lips when they broke apart she said "You know that I want to tell O'Bryan about us."

"Of course I do, it was your idea" Don said smirking at her.

Jess rolled her eyes "You're a goof" she said, "Now are you going to finish my back massage?"

But before Don had a chance to answer, her cell phone went off. Don rolled off her so she could answer it "Didn't think you were on tonight" he stated

"I'm not and it's not work" she said looking at the caller ID. Jess flicked her phone open "Bonjour" she said into the receiver.

Don listened as Jess talked on the phone in French. He normally wouldn't have eavesdropped but it wasn't as if he could understand it.

"Oui. 'Je t'adore'. Au revoir" Jess said clicking the phone shut. "Sorry, my grandma"Don smiled at her "What?' she asked

"I didn't know you could talk French" he said

Jess shrugged her shoulders "Oui, je parle français," she said "Yes, I speak French" she translated

"Do it again" he said

"Why?' Jess asked

"Because it is sexy as hell" Don said

Jess crooked her mouth and leaned into his ear and whispered "finis mon massage du dos"

* * *

Jess sat at her desk sipping her coffee, she was waiting for Don to get in so they could go talk to O'Bryan together. Although, they were coming clean with their boss, Jess had suggested (and Don agreed) there was no need to parade their relationship around the squad room. Therefore, they were keeping to their system of not coming into work together.

Don entered the station and walked over to his desk. Jess looked up from her computer and caught his eye; she nodded her head to signal him to go ahead with the plan. Jess and Don had figured it would appear suspicious if they both walked into O'Bryan's office together, so Don would go in first; Jess would wait five minutes before accidentally interrupting.

Don stood up and was about to head over to O'Bryan's office when O'Bryan walked out to the bullpen "Angell" he called walking over to her "You speak some sort of language right?" he asked

"Yea, it is called English" she said giving him a look, wondering where that came from.

"Very funny, wise ass" O'Bryan said shaking his head "I have an 187 on a train downtown and none of the witnesses speak English and I know you speak something other then English"

"French" Jess stated

"Great, I have three that are talking French" O'Bryan stated reading from the notepad, which had a number of languages on it. "Flack, go too"

They walked out of the precinct together, Jess looked up at Flack "So what exactly do you speak?" she asked"O'Bryan is right…you are a wise ass" He said

Jess chuckled "I know." she said "So we'll try again later?"

Flack nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

Jess walked into the lab, she had just dropped Flack off at the precinct with the moron Finn Wexford to process while she came to the lab to bring the stick she found in the garbage to Adam.

"Hi, Angell" Adam said looking up from the microscope he was staring in "what's ya got there?"

"A hurling stick" Jess said "According to Finn, Delaware broke it over his knee when Finn threatened him before Delaware gave the practice field back"

"And you want me to prove that he's lying" Adam said

"That would be nice" Jess said grinning "Finn is currently in custody for harassing an officer but he'll be out in a few hours, so could you prove it before then"

"Do my best" Adam said taking the stick from Jess and placing it on the table. He signed the paper Jess was holding for chain of custody.

"Thank-you Adam" Jess said turning and exiting the room, she was on her way out when she caught a glimpse of Danny in his office reading Best Boy Names Ever. Jess shook her head and knocked on the open door "Hey Angell, come on it" Danny said

"What are you doing?" she asked

"Oh this" Danny said putting the book down, "I'm waiting for a subpoena, so I figured I look up some names for the baby…what do you think about Conroy?"

"Do you have something against this baby?" Jess stated

"Very funny" Danny said

Jess licked her lips "what do you have picked out for a girl?" she asked

"Nothing" Danny said

"Hence the book" Jess said rolling her eyes "You do realize you and Lindsay may have a girl, there is a 50% chance"

"Nah" Danny said "I'm going to have a boy, my ma had two boys, Lindsay's mom had three boys, therefore I'm going have a boy"

"Yes because that's how genetics works, scientist boy" Jess said laughing

"I just know" Danny said "A father knows"

"No they don't" Jess said "and neither do mothers, case in point I was Justin until the day I was born"

"Really?" Danny said smirking "Well, I'm having a boy"

Jess rolled her eyes again, "Messer, you would be lucky to have a girl, cuz we rock" she said.

* * *

Jess smiled at Don and headed out of the precinct, she was going to head home and wait for Don to come over. Jess felt disappointed as she walked down over the stairs, they never got the chance to talk to O'Bryan again today. "Angell" she heard her name being called, she turned to see O'Bryan coming up to the station. "How was the case?" he asked

"Oh good Sir" she said

"That's good" O'Bryan said "heading home?"

"Actually, can I talk to you for a second, sir?" Jess asked

* * *

Don walked into Jess' apartment later then he had planned and made his way to her bedroom. "Hey you" he said leaning against the door fame.

"Hey" Jess said looking up from her book "What happened to you?"

"Sorry, Danny was there and he found out he was having a girl, time just got away from me" Don said joining her on the bed.

"It's ok, I haven't been home long. I ran into O'Bryan on the way out." Jess said placing her book on the nightstand.

"Yea" Don said "and"

"J'te l'avais dit que j'étais pas une poule mouillée," Jess said flipping her body so she was resting on top of Don

"I don't have my translator" Don replied jokingly

Jess bent down and kissed him "Told ya, I wasn't a chicken," she said against his lips.


	15. Chapter 15: Prey

Chapter 15: Prey

Jess stared at the board, grinning. It was a beautiful thing to see her name scheduled for all evening shifts all week long, not one shift started before 12PM.

"What are you grinning at?" Don asked coming up behind her

"Look at the board, it is a beautiful thing" Jess said "No morning shifts all week long"

Don laughed at her "Look at that I'm off tomorrow morning too" he stated

"Beautiful, beautiful board" Jess chuckled

"So are you heading out?" he asked.

"Yea, I'm meeting Holly for coffee before her shift then I'm heading…" she let her sentence hang not sure, if they were going to her or his place tonight.

"Yea me too, I'm heading home" Don said

"K, I'll be over later" Jess said waving good-bye and leaving the station.

************************************************************************

Jess arrived at Don's place a few hours later, she knew that he wasn't home yet, he had send her a txt while she was at coffee with Holly explaining that he had gone to play a quick game of basketball with Danny, he had also emphasized for her to go back to his place anyway. Normally, Jess would have been mad at being blown off, but she had worked with Danny all day so she knew how much he was missing Lindsay and how much he needed to hang with the guys. And Jess had been keeping Don to herself lately so she was willing to share tonight.

Jess walked over to his couch and sat down; she pulled off her boots and tossed them to the floor. She rubbed her snore feet; high heel leather boots not a good idea when working 12 hours. A lesson she learned repeatedly. She stood up and headed towards the bathroom, she sat on the rim of the tub and began to run the water, she found the strawberry bubble bath she liked that had found it's way onto Don's shopping list and pour it into the water before undressing and climbing into the hot bath. Jess got comfortable and leaned back to relax.

Don turned the knob to his place and entered, he tossed his keys onto the counter. He could hear the soft music coming from the bathroom and he smiled as he headed that way. Her eyes were closed and she was sank down in the bubbles when he entered, Don rested his shoulder against the doorway and took her in. "Don't stare at me, it is creepy" Jess said

Don rolled his eyes and wandered over to the tub, he reached out and tucked a piece of wet hair behind her ear then he rested his palm against her cheek bending in to place his lips on hers. Jess reached her damp arms around his neck, making the back of his shirt wet and pulled him in closer "want some company?" he asked when they broke apart

Jess put on an expression on her face that meant she was thinking, Don laughed "umm…well it is your tub and seeing how you are already wet…." she said in an alluringly tone. Jess loosened his tie and pulled it over his head afterward she discard it onto the floor. Don quickly undressed and Jess moved her body forward so there would be room for Don and he slipped into the bath with her.

Don rubbed the bath sponge tenderly down her back wiping the suds off when he was done she moved herself back into his arms, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and kissed the top of her head "the water is getting cold" Jess said

"Ummmm….well there is a perfectly good bed down the hall" Don said. Jess blushed and let the water go. Don stood up and step out he grabbed a towel, drape it over her, and snatched another one for him then he positioned his arm on the arch of her back and the other at her knees and carried Jess to the bedroom. Don lightly lay her down on the bed, he dropped the towel before climbing atop of her, Jess matted her hands into his hair and pulled his head down and pressed her lips against his HARD.

************************************************************************

Don was perked up in bed watching Jess sleep, he had woken up early even though it was their morning off, he couldn't help it unlike Jess he was a morning person. He didn't mind through, watching her…she was beautiful. He glanced around the room finding more of Jess everywhere, there was a pile of her folded clothes on his dresser, there was another pile lodged on a top of the plastic cabinet he had for storage. Hair products and make-up rested on the dresser as well. She was no longer bringing overnight bags; it was no longer necessary since so much of her stuff was already there.

"Stop staring, it is creepy" Jess said interrupting his thoughts

"I'm not even looking at you, Miss self-absorbed" he said laughing

"Oh" she said cuddling back into the pillow "well you were" he thought he heard her say but it was hard to tell since her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Since you are awake now, what are we going to do on this beautiful morning?" he asked

"Sleep" she said

Don laughed and began to run his fingers along her bare arm "that's not the way to wake me up" Jess said

Don shook his head "Fine, I'll get you, your caffeine because I'm not letting you sleep through the morning."

************************************************************************

Jess and Don walked down the street to the Manhattan National History museum to check on the led Stella had given them "So, it was too bad I got call in on our morning off" Don said

"Yea" Jess agreed, "We could have had so much fun"

Don felt his face burn red "We can continue tonight" he suggested

"Sure" Jess said, "I hear you went to see Carrie's brother"

"Yeah that was not fun" Don told her

"You ever think some of these people deserve it" Jess asked "I mean he was a stalker, he tortured these girls." She said looking at the photos of Carrie and Jane Doe that were found in Marshall's apartment.

"The line gets fuzzier on cases like this," Don said speaking from years of experience "right and wrong is not black and white; there are a lot of grey areas. But Marshall Baxter was a human whatever else he was….he was a human being"

"Yeah I know" Jess said, "I'm just thinking about Hawkes. And Carrie and this girl." Jess pointed at the girl they had yet to identify "What would you do if some guy was stalking me?"

Don stopped in his tracks and thought for a moment "I doubt you need my protection and I'm sure you would deal with him on your own" he said "However, if I got my hands on him, it would be black and white, he would be unrecognizable"

They walked up the stairs to the museum "Fair enough" Jess said, "You take the credit purchases and I'll talk to the employees"

"Sounds good" Don said

************************************************************************

Jess walked into the break room of the lab, Stella and Hawkes were both sitting there quietly, both looked like they were staring of into space.

"Stella, Hawkes" she said

They both acknowledged her but neither spoke, Jess knew this case had been hard on both of them. Don had mentioned how Stella felt responsible for teaching Odessa well Dena how to get away with murdered. Jess, also, knew that this case hit a spot with Hawkes because of Kara.

"Ok, time to break out the good stuff" Jess said. She walked over to the cupboards, opened the drawn and grabbed three spoons then went to the freezer and pulled out the tub of Baskin Robbins chocolate fudge, she put it on the table and wedged the spoons in. Hawkes gave her an odd look but Stella picked the spoon up and plopped the ice cream into her mouth "Trust me Sheldon, it is better then alcohol" Jess said taking a spoon herself. Stella nodded in agreement.

They sat eating their ice cream in silence until Don, Mac, Adam and Danny broke the quietness.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked as everyone (besides Mac) joined the trio.

"Getting a sugar buzz" Hawkes said licking the spoon

Mac grabbed extra spoons and passed one to each of the men that joined. "Odessa hired Brooks as her lawyer; she has a good chance of walking" Mac said "Since she hasn't confessed"

Hawkes shrugged he didn't feel guilty for the advice he had given the young woman.

Stella took another bite of ice cream "I thought I was teaching those kids how to stop killers; not how to get away with murder" she said

Jess shook her head "Come on Stell, you didn't teach her to get away with murder" she said "with all the crime shows today, you only have to turn on the TV to figure out not what to do" Jess said

"Plus Odessa is smart" Don said, "She didn't need you to tell her not to leave fingerprints and DNA"

Stella cracked a half smile "Yeah maybe but just to be safe I'm going to hang up my chalk and eraser" she said

The gang chatted and joked until the container was empty "Alright it is time for me to get out of here" Hawkes said

"Did the chocolate work?" Jess asked

"You were right, it is better then alcohol" Hawkes said "and I can still drive"

************************************************************************

Jess lay on Don's bed flicking the handcuffs around with her finger while she waited for Don to get out of the bathroom to join her. "What are you doing with those?" he asked walking into the bedroom.

"We were rudely interrupted this morning" she said

Don crashed next to her "And I will gladly let you use them in a moment" he said "but first detective notice anything?"

Jess looked around the room, her clothes were missing "my stuff" she said

Don got up and walked over to the dresser and pulled out a drawn full of her clothes "You gave me a drawn" Jess said surprise

"And closet space" He said "I thought it was about time you had somewhere for your things"

Jess smiled, Don walked back to the bed and positioned himself so he was straddling her, he took her hands in his and before Jess knew it, her hand was cuffed to the headboard. She giggled "Good work detective" she said


	16. Chapter 16: The Past, Present and Murder

Chapter 16:

The Past, the Present and Murder

Jess and Don walked into the waiting area of the Chanterelle, there was a long line ahead of them "So are you nervous??" Jess asked smugly whiled they waited for their turn.

"Now Birthday girl…what reason would I have to be nervous, it isn't like your dad was a sergeant or anything" he said mockingly

Jess giggled "Well, look on the bright side…he doesn't carry a gun anymore" she joked

Don gaze at her, she looked astonishing tonight, her hair was down long and the waves ran down her back. The strapless wine colored dress, she wore was wow. "Have I told you, how amazing you look tonight" he said

"A few times, but I never get sick of hearing it" Jess stated "and don't be nervous about meeting Dad and Christine, they will love you."

Don shrugged his shoulders "You're lucky really" she continued "My birthday dinner usually includes Ryan, my cop brother, his wife, Jillian, Andrew and his partner Eric. Imagine having to meet my dad for the first time along with two brothers"

"Yeah, that would not have been fun" he said to her "So you're sure he still doesn't carry guns"

Jess laughed as they reached the hostess, Jess gave her the name for the reservations and followed her over to the table in the back that had a couple sitting there. "Jessie" the man said. He stood up so that he could give his daughter a hug before Jess released him she whispered in his ear "Play nice" then Jess pulled back and introduced everyone. "Dad, Christine, this is Don" Don shook both their hands "Don, this is my dad, Clifford and my step mom Christine"

They settled down and started to chat while they waited for their waiter. "So how is Jillian?" Jess asked

"Bed rest is not suiting her" Christine said "Poor thing, but she'll make it, baby Kaitlyn will be here soon"

"I know, I can't wait to meet my new niece, I already got a devils jersey picked up for her, it is adorable" Jess said

Don rolled his eyes "I'm sorry dad but Don's a rangers fan" Jess stated

"Oh, if that's the case....I don't like him" Cliff said grinning

Don laughed "We're not getting into a spots debate" Christine warned

"Ok fine" Cliff said "Noah and Gracie are still sick with the flu, that's why Andrew and Eric couldn't make it"

"I know I was talking to them a few days ago" Jess said "Drew said they were thinking about adopting again."

They shared all the Angell news and then Cliff turned to Don "So how long have you been dating my little girl?" Cliff asked

"It will soon be six months" Don answered

"Dad, please do not interrogate him" Jess warned

However, they were interrupted when the waiter brought over the bottle of wine that Cliff had ordered before Jess' and Don's arrival.

"Oh no, none for us" Jess said "Just water, we're on call tonight"

"You couldn't get your birthday off" Christine asked

"We were suppose too" Don said

"But then Davidson jumped off a building and broke his ankle in two places" Jess said "and we're down a few because of the flu going around, so O'Bryan needed someone to cover and Don and I drew the short straw"

Cliff laughed "I remember days like those" he said as he broke into a story from when he was on the job.

Jess and Don were laughing hard when their food arrived. Don had just taken a bite when his cell went off, he looked at the ID and recognized it as dispatch "sorry" he said to Jess and excuse himself so he could take the call.

"I like him" Christine told her

"Me too" Jess said giggling. Cliff rolled his eyes "what do you think, daddy?" she asked

"I have to admit I was surprise when I heard you were dating your partner" he said. Jess gave him a look "I still have contacts in Jersey and with the NYPD" Cliff explained

"Well you're contacts are wrong. Don and I have never been partners, not officially anyway. We sometimes work cases together but I usually run solo" Jess said

"It doesn't matter to me" Cliff said "Jessie as long as you're happy then I like him but a ranger's fan."

Jess giggled, Don returned to the table "I have to go, it is a big case…something to do with Dunbrook" he explained "I'll make it up to you"

"No worries" Jess said as her phone went off, she flipped it open "looks like I'm leaving too"

**************************************************************************************************************************

"Hey, Happy birthday" Holly said looking up from the door she was currently collecting finger prints from.

"Thanks" Jess said. She walked into the bedroom to find their victim displayed on the bed covered in red roses. Jess caught some of the male uniforms snickering and laughing at the body, "Seriously, show some respect for the human being lying there died" Jess said irritated.

The uniforms quickly shut up but there is always that one in the group that is braver then the rest "Detective, don't you know who she is?" he asked

"No, Travis I just got here but if you have an Id it would be nice to be filled…" Jess started to say annoyed but she didn't finish because she had just got a better look of the victim and recognized her as Strawberry Delight, the very well known porn star.

"So you do know her, detective" Travis spoke up, making a couple of the other uniforms laugh.

"Anyone that doesn't live under a rock knows who she is" Jess stated losing her patients with the morons she gotten tonight "So you think you guys can stop acting like adolescent boys long enough to do your jobs and start canvassing the building for anyone who might have seen or heard anything"

She got the low "Yes Ma'am" from them as they started to exit. "Not you, Travis, I need you to find me an ID" Jess said

"You know it's Strawberry Delight" he said "what do you need me for?"

"You think her mother named her, Strawberry Delight, she has a real name because she was a real person. So I need you to track that down for me" Jess said with authority.

Travis exited the room unhappily and muttering. Jess ignored him and started to search the room, when she was done she headed out to where Holly was finishing up "So I doubt it was a robbery gone bad, since there was four hundred dollars cash in the nightstand drawn" she said passing Holly the evidence bag containing the cash "and there was this ring" she said also giving it to Holly.

"It's engraved" Holly said examining it.

"To my love" Jess said

"Crime of passion" Holly said

"I don't know yet but I'm going to head over to the ATCO Company" Jess said

"The company that produces her films" Holly said

"Yep" Jess said getting ready to leave the crime scene.

"Jess, how long are you going to torture Travis?" Holly questioned

"Oh he is mine until this case is over" Jess said

************************************************************************************************************************************

Don sat in front of his computer typing the application for the subpoena he needed in order to get the information from Dunbrook's biometric security system. He clicked send and hoped it would come through soon.

Jess drifted over to her desk and dropped her badge and gun in the drawn then she turned on her computer while she waited for it to load up she wandered over to Don. "So the body is missing?" she asked

"You heard about that huh?" He asked

"Yea, I did" Jess said

"You have strawberry delight" Don said

"Actually, I have Emma Williams, from the small town of Coal Creek, Colorado." Jess said "that's who she really was. How do you know anyways?"

"Oh it's all the buzz down the locker room" Don said

"Of course it is" Jess said shaking her head in disapprovement

Travis walked over with a file in his hand "I got the ID" he said "her name was…."

"Emma Williams" Jess said "I know I got her information from the company that made her movies"

This did not sit well with the uniform "You send me on a wild goose chase"

"Maybe I did" Jess said "but now you know she was a person…don't go far I'm heading out in fifteen and you are going with me"

Jess smiled at Don as Travis stormed away "Are you enjoying torturing the rookie?" Don asked

"His ass is mine for this case" Jess said "You should have seen them there just looking at that poor girl like she was nothing more then a piece of meat, I don't care who she was or what she did with her life, she was a human being and she should have been treated like that today. And yea the other morons were just as bad but Travis open his big mouth so I target him. If I had done anything like that with Benton, he would have made sure I didn't see a crime scene for a month." Jess rambled

"Yes I would have" Nick said coming up to the desk "Happy Birthday" he added

"Thanks" Jess said

They chatted for a bit until Don got an email letting him know the subpoena came through then he ran it "this can't be right" he said

"What" Jess said as she stood up to go notify Emma's parents.

"The last person to enter Dunbrook's was Anne Steele" Don said

"Didn't she get murdered" Benton asked

"That's why it is impossible" Don said

"So you have a missing body and a dead person entering Dunbrook's office" Jess said patting him on the shoulders "good luck with that"

************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess stood in the corner of the interrogation room with her arms folded and a file in hand. Calvin Jenkins sat in the hot seat; he had been Emma's manager. "Detectives, why would I killed Strawberry delight, she was one of my most profitable girls"

"Because Emma was going to leave you, she was getting out of the business" Jess said walking over to the table.

"Nice theory" He said "but she couldn't leave, I had her under contract for two more years, if she left it would have been breech of contract and I could have sue her"

"Except she was only 19 when she died" Holly said "and how long has she been making movies?" she asked looking at Jess

"Four years, making her only 15 when she started for you"

"Makes it kiddy porn" Holly stated

"You forge her birth certificate" Jess said "Emma told you either let her out of her contract or she would go to the cops"

"So you kill her" Holly said "Cuz like you said she made you money and now in death, Emma will keep making you money"

"If Strawberry was 15 when she started I didn't know" Calvin said "it was her that forged her birth certificate"

"Did you know she had a son?" Jess asked putting the picture of a little boy around five years old down on the table. He had bright green eyes that shone through on the photograph and super curly red hair. "His name is Brayden, that's why Emma was getting out, she was going back home to Colorado to be a mother."

Calvin gasped in shock and took the picture in his hand "Oh god" he said

****************************************************************************************************************************

Jess and Holly finished processing and booking Calvin, Jess yawned and they headed back to the bullpen so she could fill out the paperwork.

The guys were sat around Don's desk chatting "So did you guys ever find the flash drive?" Holly asked

"Nope and we tore Dunbrook's office apart" Mac said "and Connor's place and office"

"Maybe it is a good thing that it's lost, something that sensitive in the wrong hands" Jess said

"Yeah maybe" Stella said "It is just going to bug me, where could it have gone?"

"I hear you two got your guy" Mac said referring to Jess and Holly

"Yes we did" Jess said

"Angell, I also hear you've been torturing my uniforms" O'Bryan said

"Yeah but they deserve it" Jess said

"I heard that too" O'Bryan said "So I was thinking since it was your birthday yesterday and I didn't get you anything, how would you like Travis, Miller, and White on your service for the next month?"

"Really" Jess said evilly "I would like that…a lot"

The guys laughed "Oh, Jess I forgot to ask you, how did dinner go?" Holly asked

***************************************************************************************************************************

Don was relaxing on the bed, flicking channels waiting for Jess to join him. She came in a few minutes later, hair in a pony tail and wearing a pink Hello Kitty tank top and black pot-a-dot pajama pants. Jess pulled the blankets up and slipped in.

"Jess" Don said, he already could see she was already starting to fall asleep.

"MMMM" she said

"I never got a chance to give you; your birthday present" he said

Jess quickly opened her eyes and sat up "does it involve being naked?" she said smiling

"Get your mind out of the gutter" He said laughing as he got up and walked to the closet

"Well I did work on a porn case today, where else would my mind be?" she questioned "So what did you get me?" Jess said when Don turned around holding her present. Jess thought she was going to cry, she crawled down to the end of the bed and leaped into his arms "I can't believe you got me that"

"I wasn't sure you would like it but I take your reaction to mean you do" he said kissing her

"I love it" Jess said "And I love you"

A/N: I know that in pay up it says on the newspaper at the end Jess' birthday is in Feb. and this aired in April but I'm not going exactly by season 5 storyline. And yes I know I'm evil not telling you what he got her, it will be in the next chapter but you're welcome to guess.


	17. Chapter 17: Yahrzeit

Chapter 17:

Yahrzeit

"No way" Holly said as she and Jess made their way down a rocky hill in central park to reach their crime scene.

"Yes way" Jess replied smiling.

"I can't believe he got you a guitar for your birthday that is so sweet" Holly said

"It isn't just any guitar Holls" Jess said "It is a Nova acoustic just like the one my mom gave me for Christmas that year"

Holly grinned "Oh wow" she said

"Yea" Jess said "Thanks by the way"

"Thanks for what?" Holly asked confused

"I told Don, I used to play guitar and about my mom" Jess said "I never ever told him the kind of guitar I played. And I doubt he called my dad or my brothers to find out, so that leaves only you"

Holly blushed and shrugged her shoulders "Well, he wanted to get you something special. He brought up the guitar topic, he's figured out that you love music and it is something that means a lot to you. He wants you to play again" Holly said "Have you played it?"

"Not really" Jess said "I have strummed the strings. Did I mention; I told Don, I love him" She said changing the subject.

"No, you failed to bring that up" Holly said "And"

"Well let's put it this way if he hadn't said it back we would be having an entirely different conversation" Jess said. They reached the bottom of the hill and girl talk had to end when they reached the crime scene; it was time to do their jobs.

"Do we have an ID?" Jess asked Travis

"No" Travis said "But she had this in her hand"

Holly took the piece of fabric in her hand to examine it "Crap, Jess does this look familiar?"

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess slammed the phone down and swore under her breathe "Having issues?" Don asked looking up from his computer.

"You could say that" Jess said

"So what's the issue?" He asked getting up and coming over to her desk.

"My vic from the park, Miranda Jones went missing from the academy on Friday and now I'm getting the run around." Jess said

"The academy as in the police academy" Don said raising his eyebrow.

Jess nodded her head "That's right; Miranda was training to be a cop" She stated

"Get a subpoena" Don said "Only way you're getting near that place"

'Yeah, yeah. I know. I was hoping I wouldn't have to." Jess said

"I want a lawyer" Elgers called as Danny and Hawkes brought him into the station "You SOB, you assaulted me"

"I think you might have a situation" Jess said nodding her head in Elgers direction.

"Yeah" Don said but he didn't move "How about I'll get the subpoena, if you interview the Neo-Nazi?"

"No thanks, I rather get a subpoena to search the Police Academy" Jess replied

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess and Holly handed the head of the academy, Mitchell Harris a subpoena. "We will see Miranda's room now" Jess said

Mitchell glanced over the subpoena; he was looking for anything that would allow him to deny Jess' request.

"It is all there is black and white" Holly said

"Very well" Mitchell replied "I'll show you to Cadet Jones' room"

"I would also like to talk to her roommate, Janie. In addition, I would like to interview all the first years" Jess said

"Not a problem" Mitchell replied

"It is so nice how helpful people become when warrants are involved" Holly stated.

"Which was not necessary" Harris said opening the dorm room "This was Miranda's room, I'll have Cadet Saunders sent up."

"Thanks" Holly said taking out her kit and started to look around for anything that might suggest this was the primary crime scene since the park was just a dump site.

Moments later, a young woman showed up to the room "Janie?" Jess asked

"Yes, Officer Harris said you needed to talk to me about Miranda's disappearance" She said

"That's correct" Jess confirmed as she took out her notepad "Why don't we take a seat" she said guiding her over to the bed, Jess knew that no one here had the decently to tell her Miranda was dead.

"I don't know much" Janie said

"I'm so sorry Janie but we found Miranda dead this morning…murdered" Jess said placing her hand on Janie's shoulder for support. "Just tell me whatever you know?"

Janie tried to hide her feelings but Jess could tell she was truly upset about losing her friend. "Umm…she left Friday night to go visit her mom in Albany. You can check the logs she signed out" Janie said

"I will. But she never made it to Albany" Jess said "Her mom reported her missing Saturday when she didn't show up and she hadn't heard from her."

Janie swallowed and Jess knew she was hiding something.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?" Jess said as she placed a cuff on Matt Butler's right wrist. She was charging him with the murder of Miranda. Matt was a fellow cadet and he had killed her because she had out performed him; he didn't like being showed up by a chick. Jess went to cuff his other hand; when he came back with his elbow and nailed her in the mouth which knocked her to the group "Stupid bitch" he screamed "you belong in the kitchen" then he tried to make a run for it. Holly grabbed him and tossed his stupid ass against the car "you ok?" she asked Jess

"Just perfect" Jess said wiping the blood on her shirt.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess hung upside down from the couch, her head was resting on a pillow on the floor. A beer lay next to her, ice on her lip and the guitar in her arms. She strummed the strings not really playing any notes. Don entered her place after the long day he had, he wanted a beer. He still had chills from Abraham's…well Klaus' words. 'We should have kill them all', rang through his ears. After getting a beer from the fridge, he moved towards the living room and could only see Jess' feet atop of the sofa. "Jess, what the heck are you doing?" he asked walking around and giving her an odd look.

"My day sucked. The blood rushing to my head is therapeutic" Jess said and added "I'm not insane"

Don sat down on the floor so he was sitting next to her head, he gently removed the ice and lightly touched her swollen lip "What happened here?" he asked

Jess sighed "This happened when I arrested the sexist pig that killed my vic. He killed her because she beat him at hand and hand combat in front of all the male cadets. I guess he didn't appreciative being taken down by a chick today, a point he made clear when his elbow collided with my face." Jess said

"Did you give him hell?" Don asked

"You bet your ass" Jess said "I might have forgotten to file the paperwork; and he might be still in holding with all those friendly people."

Don grinned "That's my brown-eye detective" he said lying down on the pillow so that their heads were touching.

"What happen with Danny and IA?" She asked

"He got suspended without pay for two weeks" Don said "I will always say that piece of garbage Elgers deserve what he got and I wasn't there but…"

"I know. I saw Elgers' face" Jess said "Are you Ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked

"I heard about the case, it sounded like a tough one" Jess said

Don shrugged his shoulders "My day sucked" he admitted as he started to pull himself up into sitting position. Jess reached out to him "Lie with me here, just for a little while longer"

Don moved back and wrapped his arms around her "I love you" he whispered into her ear.

"Want to hear me play?" Jess asked


	18. Chapter 18: Greater Good

Chapter 18:

Greater Good

"Condoms" Don called

"MMM?" Jess mumbled walking into her bedroom with her toothbrush in her mouth and propped herself against the doorframe in her boy-cut boxers and a tank top.

Don stared at her for a moment; Jess looked so damn hot standing there. "Condoms" He repeated opening the nightstand drawer "We have none"

Jess held up her finger and strolled back to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth then came back into the room. "And what do you need condoms for? Someone think they are getting lucky tonight or something"

"I was hoping" Don said in a mocking tone. He reached out for her hand and pulled her down onto the bed. "But we have no condoms."

Jess raise herself up by putting her hand under her chin "Well" Jess sexily said "We have three options: 1) you can go out in the rain and pick some up. 2) We can go to sleep. 3) Or we can go ahead anyhow"

"Really?" He asked, "Are you sure"

Jess moved herself up the bed towards him "I'm on the pill and we're only sleeping with each other. I'm okay with it, if you are" Jess replied.

Don smiled, he gripped her tiny wrists and dragged her up so she was resting on top of him "I'm fine with it" he said slipping his tongue into her mouth and guiding his hands under her shirt and slowly up to her breasts.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Ahchoo"" Jess sneezed walking out of the bathroom where her victim lay. "Hey Danny, Dr." She said as they entered the crime scene "Our vic, Morgan Stewart is this way" "Ahchoo" she sneezed again

"Are you getting that flu? That has been going around." Dr. asked following her in the bathroom

"Nah" Jess said "Just allergies, got to love spring with all those flowers"

"Are you sure that's all it is? Cuz I know someone who had the flu a few weeks ago, someone you've spend a lot of time with" Danny said laughing

"Shut up Messer and process the scene" Jess said

Hawkes and Danny snickered and opened their kits; Jess rolled her eyes "I'm going to join the uniforms with the canvass" She stated turning on her eels and flipping her hair over her shoulders, she didn't get out of the bathroom before Danny's cell went off. "Adam, wow slow down" Danny said "What? When?"

Jess gave Hawkes a questionable look "Ok, Ok, I'm on my way. Tell her I'm coming, don't let her have the baby until I get there" he said in panicked tone and flipped his phone closed.

"That was Adam, Lindsay is, is, is…" Danny stuttered

Jess smiled "in labor" she said

"I have to go" Danny said "Hawkes, keys"

"Hawkes drive him" Jess said "No way are you getting behind the wheel. Last thing we need is you in some kind of accident"

"What about the scene?" Hawkes asked

"I'll call Holly or Josh in to finish processing. Go" Jess said

Danny nodded and started to walk out of the vic's apartment. "Oh, Danny" Jess called He stopped and turned to face her "Congratulations" Jess said pulling Danny into a hug.

*************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess coughed again before taking a sip of her tea. She was waiting for Holly to come by with the ballistic report on Stewart. "Tea?" Don asked coming over to her desk and standing behind her.

"Yea" Jess said coughing "Tea"

"Getting a sore throat" Don stated

"No" Jess said sniffling

"You are a caffeine junkie and you're drinking tea with lemon" He said "I am a detective"

"Its allergies" Jess said "I was fine last night and this morning the flu doesn't hit this fast"

"This one does" Don said, "It hit me out of no where"

"Which reminds me, if this is the flu, I'll blame you" Jess said

He bended over her and placed his palm on her desk for support. "I was grateful for my nurse" he whispered "But I did warn you about staying over"

"True" Jess said "But I'm still going to blame you"

Don let out a chuckle when he saw Mac enter the station "Flack" Mac said approaching Jess' desk "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure" Don said

"I thought you took today off" Jess said

"I did…Why?" Mac said

"Because most normal people don't come to work on their day off," Jess said smirking

"She has a point" Don said

"That favor" Mac said

"Catch you later," Jess said, getting up from her desk, she had spotted Holly with the report.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess walked into the lab; her nose was stuffy, her throat hurt and every inch of her body ached, she could no longer blame this on allergies. "Adam, how's Linds?" Jess asked walking into the break room.

"Still no baby. Almost 8 hours of active labor" he said shaking his head "only ten more and I win the pool"

"Nice Adam, nice" Jess said

"You look like crap" Adam told Jess

Holly giggled "I think we've just figured out why you are still single" Jess said

Adam shrugged and blushed "So are you still claiming allergies?" Holly asked

"Nah, I'm not that stubborn" Jess said, "Benton is processing Stewart's secretary for the murder, and I'm calling it a day"

"Not going to the hospital?" Adam asked

"No, no doctor is going to let me in to the maternity ward sick." Jess said "But tell Danny and Lindsay, congratulations from me and I'll drop by when I feel better."

Adam nodded his head "I will" he said

"Want a ride a home?" Holly asked

"Sure" Jess said

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Don rocked little Messer in his arms "You're a natural" Lindsay said

"I have nieces and nephews" Don said passing the baby back to Danny. "She's amazing"

"I know." Danny agreed "I was expecting Jess" he stated looking down at his baby girl in complete awe.

"Oh yeah" Adam said "The flu bug hit her today and she can't visit. Told me to tell the two of you congratulations and she'll be by when she's feeling better" Then he added "Holly took her home, when she left the lab she didn't look so hot"

"Chicken soup and Robitussin" Hawkes suggested

"That's my hint to take off" Don said walking over to Lindsay "Congratulations again mommy" he said giving her a hug "and to you too daddy" he said extending his hand to shake Danny's hand.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess lay curled up on the couch, she had three blankets over her and she was still freezing.

"I hate you" she said glancing up at Don, who had just gotten there.

"Jess is whiney when she's sick" Holly stated. She had decided to stay with her friend until Don showed up. She didn't want to leave Jess alone and sick.

Jess would have argued that point but honestly, she didn't have enough energy. "I hate you too," Don said laughing and kissing her on the forehead. "Man, she's burning up"

"I know." Holly said "I already took her temperature; it was 102.5 an hour ago so she has a fever but it's nothing to worry about. Just keep her hydrated. And now I'm going to go do my shift on no sleep"

"Thanks for staying with her." Don said walking her to the door.

"No problem." Holly said "She's my best friend"

"Bye" Jess called and regarded it the moment she did. Don walked back to the living room once Holly had left, picked Jess up with the blankets and carried her into the bedroom and settled her into the bed. Then he went to retrieve a glass of OJ and the cold medicine he had picked up and placed the items on the nightstand. Don then crawled into bed with her and dangled his arms around Jess' waist. She got into a coughing fit and had to sit up to make it stop when she was finished she laid back and rested in his arms. "How are Linds and the baby?" Jess asked

"Perfect" Don said. Jess snuggled into him and slowly floated off to dreamland. Don watched her sleep peacefully, he couldn't help but imagine Jess lying in a hospital bed holding a little baby, their baby, and he beamed.


	19. Chapter 19: Grounds for Deception

Chapter 19:

Grounds for Deception

"Yeah, I'm going to take the train tomorrow morning" Jess said as her head lay on Don's lap, chatting on the phone. "I'll be there by lunch, Jills isn't getting induced until 3, gives me plenty of time."

Jess fell silent listening to her brother, Ryan talk. "Yea, Kelly is going to pick me up, I was already talking to her before you called." Jess stated into the phone "Alright, I'm going to go pack, I'll see you guys tomorrow, night" Jess said before clicking end on the cordless.

"So you're going for the whole week?" Don asked

Jess turned herself so she was lying on her back and looked up at Don "Yes, I'm gone until Sunday. Jillian is getting induced tomorrow; I promised her I would be there for Kaitlyn's birth then I'll spend the rest of the week with my new niece"

"But you'll be back Sunday, for sure?" Don asked

"Yea, I love my family but I can only handle them in small dozes. " Jess stated "Why? You gonna miss me or something?" She chuckled.

"Or something" Don said

Jess laughed, pulled herself up into sitting position and slid off the couch. She then turned and climbed atop of Don so that she was straddling him. "Just admit you're going to miss me" she said before placing a kiss on his neck and making her way up his jaw line until her lips met his. Don's hands roamed up along her back and found their way into her hair. They stayed on the couch for a few minutes, kissing. Don slid his body to the edge of the couch, clasped his arms around her lower back, lifted himself as well as Jess up, and headed straight for his bedroom. He tossed her onto the bed and Jess let out a sexy scream as he climbed on top.

Jess rested her head on Don's chest; the room smelled of sweat and sex. "You never admitted that you are going miss me" Jess said pulling the sheet up over them both.

"I'm going miss that" Don said which earned him a slap in the chest. "Ouch" he said

"You deserved it" Jess said smiling

"Yea maybe a little" he chuckled "And there is a good possibility; I will miss you"

"Awe" Jess said "I think you've gone soft on me" she tense

"You are just asking for a tickle attack" Don threatened as he moved the arm that wasn't wrapped around her to her ribs.

"No" she said giggling, "I'm going miss you too, just don't tickle me"

"Awe is my tough detective; gone soft" he said digging his fingers into her ribs. When he stopped Jess was laughing so hard, she had to catch her breathe. "Still love me? " he asked jokily

"Yea I suppose I still do…but my ribs don't" Jess stated

Don laughed, Jess sat up to get out of the bed "Where are you going?" he asked

"To pack" Jess replied

Don pulled her back onto the bed "I have a better idea" he said as he reverse his position and climbed atop of her, he bend down and started to suck on her neck.

"Really round two" Jess said giggling

Don moved his head forward so he was looking her directly in the eyes "well, you are gone for a week" he said

***********************************************************************************************************************************

Don watched Stella leave the precinct and wandered back to his desk. He picked up the phone and lodged the receiver on his shoulder while he debated about calling Jess to inform her about Kolovos's murder. He liked the idea of leaving her in Jersey away from the entire mess; on the other hand, he knew what he had to do; he sighed as he dialed her cell phone.

"_Angell" Jess answered _

"_Hey" Don said "what are you doing?"_

"_Just sat in the backseat of the car with my beautiful niece Kaitlyn" Jess said "Mommy and baby got released today so we're heading home. How about you? Missing me after only three days" _

"_No" Don said _

"_No?" Jess repeated_

"_I mean yes" Don said "Actually I called about work. There is some stuff going on here that I thought you should know about"_

"_Is everything okay?" Jess said, her tone turning serious._

"_Well, Mac found out about the Kolovos/Diakos thing and is pissed. Stella turned in her badge and Kolovos turned up in central park; murdered" Don explained_

"_Ok" Jess said trying to process everything, he had just told her "What should I do?"_

"_Stella wants you to step back and I agree, you have four more days in Jersey; so stay there and enjoy your niece and family" Don said _

"_Or" Jess said "I can get the next train to the city"_

"_See I like my plan better" Don said "I don't like the idea of you getting involve in this"_

"_News flash Don, I'm involved" Jess said "And I don't back down"_

"_Jess" Don said "Please for me, just stay put" _

"_Okay, okay, I'll consider it" Jess said_

"_Alright, I got to get back to work" Don said _

"_Love you" Jess said _

"_Me too" Don said "later" _he hung up the phone, turned to the computer; pulled up the train schedule so he would know what time to expect Jess.

_************************************************************************************************************************_

"She's in Greece" Mac said looking at the papers Flack had just handed him.

"Technically, she's over the north Atlantic right about now" Jess said walking into the conference room "it is a ten hour flight"

"You were talking to Stella" Mac accused

Jess nodded "Just before she jumped on the plane; I tried to call but I was on my way back and my cell died" she explained. "She said this was something she had to do and not to worry about her"

Mac eyed Angell, he had been furious with Stella yesterday morning and he had figured out that Angell had been the detective that had helped Stella, so he wasn't exactly impressed with her either. "Angell, can I speak with you for a second?" Mac asked "in my office"

"Sure" Jess said following Mac out. As she passed Flack, he whispered "I expected you a half hour ago"

She tired not to smile as she walked down the hall with Mac. At least Don wasn't mad at her for coming back, however, she had a feeling Mac was pissed.

"Take a seat" Mac said once they were inside. Jess did as she was told "I know you were apart of this sting too"

Jess nodded "I'm sorry Mac. I know we disobeyed your order but can you honestly blame Stella for wanting to get these guys. Diakos put a gun to her head, send her a rat and killed two people. Hell, I wanted him and he didn't do anything to me. I know where Stella was coming from, if someone put a gun to my head, I would do everything to find him. So when Stell, asked me for help, I had to say yes. Because somewhere along the way we all became more then co-workers and friends; we became family and family sticks together" Jess rambled

When he had asked Jess to his office he had planned to yell at her just like he had yelled at Stella but he had a change of heart as her words sunk in "You're right" Mac said opening his desk drawer and pulling out his passport.

"I am?" Jess questioned

"Family do stick together" Mac replied "I'm going to Greece."

*******************************************************************************************************************************

Stella and Mac walked into Sullivans, it had taken Stella a lot of convincing but she finally got him to agree to come along. "Jess and Don are over there" Stella pointed

"Hey" Jess said as Stella and Mac approached them "We heard you were back from Greece"

"I see you got something shiny there" Don said pointing to Stella's badge

"Yeah" Stell said taking a seat "I don't think I'll be giving it up so easy next time"

"Next time?" Mac repeated "Are you planning on disobeying me again?"

"No" Stella replied "Well, at least not anytime soon"

"Yeah, give it at least a couple of weeks before we ignore orders again" Jess said tensing Mac

Mac shook his head "What are we going to do with them?" he asked Don

"I don't know" Don said taking a swag of his beer "they will drive us nuts"

Jess punched Don in the shoulder "but you two would be lost without us" she chuckled; Stella nodded in agreement.


	20. Chapter 20: Pay Up Part 1

_A/N: I decided to break the episode Pay up into two chapters. This is part one. Now seriously there was no way I was killing Jess off, I live in a bubble and in my bubble Jess lives, I will never ever kill her in my stories with that being said this chapter follows pay up but it doesn't. Anything you recognized is from the show and hopefully you like my twist._

Chapter 20:

Pay Up (Part 1)

Jess sat at her desk filling out case reports. It was late and the precinct had emptied. Jess' shift had ended an hour ago but she had decided to wait for Don to finish.

"Hey Jess" Holly said wandering over to her desk, "What's ya doing?"

"Paperwork" Jess replied yawning

Holly reached out her hand and pulled the file out from Jess "Holly, you made me smear the case file"

"It's late put the paperwork away and come with me to Sully's. I'm meeting Shelby, Stella and a few other girls" Holly said

"Tempting" Jess said grabbing her paperwork back "but I'm waiting for Don, then we have plans"

"Seriously?" Holly said "it's been seven months, aren't you sick of getting it yet"

"Funny. Actually, we're going to a movie" Jess said, "We don't just have sex, ya know."

"I know; I was tensing" Holly said, "Just it's been forever since we've hung out. I miss my friend and working together; does not count. Don needs to share" Holly stated

"I miss hanging with you too" Jess said "How about breakfast at Tillary's tomorrow instead"

"Will I get juicy details?" Holly asked with an evil grin

Jess laughed as Don walked out of interrogation "Details about what?" he asked

"You" Holly said

"Only good things" Jess said "I promise"

Don didn't make a comment but Jess did notice his face turning a light shade of red. "Alright, tomorrow sounds like a plan, I'm heading out now" Holly said waving.

"Are you ready to head out too?" Don asked

"Yep" Jess said.

Jess and Don walked out of the movie and headed towards the park so they could take the shortcut to Jess' place. "You've been awfully quiet tonight" Jess stated as she playfully hit her shoulder against his.

"It's nothing" Don said

"It's something" Jess said "Does it have something to do with Holly's comment?"

Don shrugged "Just curious, do you talk about me, us, a lot?" he asked

"Not really" Jess said smiling, she had figured that's what was bugging him. "I like to keep my private life private and I'm not a gossipy girl. I chat to Jillian sometimes but she's been my friend since third grade and has held my hand through some crappy times and I've held hers. However, the only person from work, I occasionally discuss our relationship with is Holly and that's because she's my best friend. Does it bother you?" she rambled

"You and Holly are close, huh?" He asked

"Since I transferred over from Vice almost five years ago, we've been there for each other." Jess said, "Holly was there while I adjusted to homicide, she took me under her wing. Also, she was around when my grandma Angell got sick and helped me get through losing her. In addition, for the past three years, she's ran the cure for life marathon with me. Holly turned to me; when she broke up with her cheating fiancée; she slept on my couch for weeks after that. Two Christmases ago' when she couldn't get home to her family in Wisconsin, I took her home to Jersey to be with mine." she explained how important Holly was to her.

"Only good things, huh?" He asked

"Only good things" Jess repeated

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess and Holly sat at the counter at Tillary's chatting and laughing while they waited for their breakfast. "You were right," Jess said taking a sip of her coffee "We need some girl time again"

"I know" Holly said "So what's the sex like?"

Jess turned a deep shade of red "Holly!" she exclaimed then bit her lip and added, "Oh wow"

Holly giggled, "You know I am happy for you Jess. I just miss my friend sometimes"

"I know" Jess said "On a random note: my dad wanted me to invite you to his surprise 65th birthday party, June 11th"

"I'll be there, I love your dad," Holly said

"Rules, still apply" Jess warned laughing

"I can't believe you made a rule stating that I'm not allowed to sleep with your gorgeous brother." Holly said

"Yet I did" Jess said, "Mikey is off limits, the rest I don't care about"

"The rest are married," Holly said

"Hey, ladies" Benton said walking over to where the girls were sat.

"Hey, Nick" Jess and Holly said together "What's up?" Jess said

"Babysitting." He said annoyed "Taking Conner Dunbrook over to the grand jury with a murder rap hanging over his head he's decided to save his own ass and testify against daddy…It'll be enough to put Robert Dunbrook away for at least 20 years" he continued

"Got to love that" Holly said

"Yea, with children like that, who needs enemies" Jess added

"So what are you ladies doing?" Nick asked

"Breakfast and some girl talk" Jess said "before my shift at ten"

"Breakfast and girl talk" Holly said "before I go home to bed. I work at 6pm"

Nick laughed "Alright, I should go protect the prodigal son. He is treating me to breakfast," he said

"Awe how sweet of him" Holly laughed

Nick waved and headed over to the booth in the corner of the small diner. "I got to run to the bathroom, be right back," Holly stated

While Jess waited for Holly to get back she decided to make a call, she didn't bother waking, Don before she left this morning and she just wanted to say good morning. Plus, she was in a flirty wiseass mood. She hit speed dial one and let the rings go through.

"Flack" he answered

"Tonight - - you, me, a bottle of wine. I'll wear that black negligee I know you like" Jess said seductively

"Mom?" Flack asked with an amused look on his face

"Ugh. Never mind. What are you doing?" Jess asked

"Breaking up with an old friend…you?" Flack replied

"Watching Benton baby-sit, he's taking Conner Dunbrook over to the grand jury with a murder rap hanging over his head he's decided to save his own ass and testify against daddy…It'll be enough to put Robert Dunbrook away for at least 20 years." Jess said "And having breakfast with Holly"

"Oh Yea? Let me guess Tillary diner two eggs over easy, turkey bacon on the crispy side, a glass of O.J" he said guessing what she ordered.

"Am I that predictable?" she asked

"Yes you are that predictable" Flack replied laughing

"Ha-ha" she giggled.

Holly walked back and took her seat next to Jess, Holly looked at her on the phone and laughed, "Seriously, you two are becoming one of those cuties, sickened couples" Holly said which earned her a light punch in the shoulder from Jess.

Don laughed at them both "All right well tonight sounds great, I'll pick up some stuff, I'll be over to your place about…" But Flack never got the chance to finished his sentence…he could hear a loud crash and gunfire.

"Jess…?" Flack yelled into the phone, no she's OK, she has to be OK he thought, "get out! Get out!" Flack screamed at Terrence, he hit the sirens and floored it to Tillary Diner.

********************************************************************************************************************************************

It happened so fast, Jess heard the 18-wheeler crash into the diner, she heard Nick screaming "Get down." Her cop instincts took over and although she wasn't on duty, her hand went to her gun. She emptied her clip and she was sure she hit one of the perps before a bullet sliced across her left arm.

When the chaos was over, Jess took in her arm, it was bleeding but it was nothing serious. Jess glanced around the wracked diner and that's when she saw Holly lying on the ground. Jess ran over to her, "Holly, talk to me," Jess said panicked, she looked at the wound and knew it was not good. Holly had been hit in the abdomen and arm; she was losing a lot of blood…too much blood. "I'll be right back," Jess promised as she ran over to check on Nick. He was lying on the ground too, he was hurt but not as bad as Holly, Jess could only see his leg bleeding. Jess grabbed his radio, she didn't have hers since she was off duty, she pressed the button "Detective Angell, requesting immediate back up and medics at Tillary Diner, two officers down" she said "Nick"

"I'm Ok," Nick said, "I'm wearing a vest, it's just my leg"

Jess nodded and went back to Holly, she pressed on the wound, applying pressure, hoping to stop the bleeding.

"Jess, Jess!" She heard Don's voice scream her name

"Over here" Jess called

Don raced pass the overturned tables until he saw Jess, the blood on her jacket caught his eye but then he saw Holly and his attention quickly went to her. Don slid down on his knees and took a look at the wound "She's losing a lot of blood, Jess" he said

"I know, I called it in….I'm waiting for the ambulance" Jess said, "Where is that ambulance" she yelled "Don, we have to get her to the hospital now"

"Ok" Don said, he carefully picked Holly up, he expected Jess to follow but instead she ran over to Nick "I'm not leaving him" Jess said, "Get Holly to the hospital, I'll wait for the ambulance"

Don nodded, he didn't want to leave her there hurt but Jess' injuries weren't life threatening, Holly on the other hand, he couldn't even go there. Don ran out of the diner and placed her into the car as Travis got into the driver seat and took off for the hospital.

"Come on, Scott, don't do this," he said to her

Holly was losing consciousness, she could barely keep her eyes open, she was fighting. However, she was getting so damn tired. "Take care of her" Don thought he heard Holly say as the car pulled up to the emergency entrance. Don picked her up again and raced into the hospital where the doctors took over and raced Holly into surgery.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

Jess sat on the little examination bed, the gash on her arm had been clean and stitched up, now she was waiting (not so patiently) for the doctor to release her so she could go check in on Holly. Don had been down 30 minutes ago to give her the update that Holly was still in surgery. After five more minutes went passed and no one came in, Jess lost her patients; she got off the bed and grabbed her jacket of the chair, opened the curtain and walked out of the exam cubicle.

Before heading up to the surgical ward, she made a left and walked into another exam room. Nick was lying on the bed "Hey" He asked, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine…you?" Jess said

"The bullet missed the main arties, they are going to bandage me up but I have to rest for awhile," Nick said. He looked away from her and she knew it was because Nick didn't want her to see him cry "I'm so, so sorry Jess"

"Hey, it's not your fault" Jess said

"I should have told you and Holly to leave when I saw you there at the diner. Why didn't I tell you to leave?" Nick asked

"Cuz there was no way you could predict this." Jess said

"How is Holly?" He asked

"I'm going up there now" Jess said, "Last I heard she was still in surgery"

"Keep me up to date," Nick said

Jess nodded her head before leaving the room and heading up to surgical. Jess walked down the long hall until she came to where Don was sat, he was joined by Josh. "How is she?" Jess asked approaching them.

"Still in surgery" Josh told her. Jess took the empty seat next to Don.

"How's your arm?" Don asked, "How's Nick"

"I'll be fine, Nick's fine," Jess said, she saw the doctor open the doors and head towards them, Jess stood up and held her breathe.

"Detective Scott's family" Dr. Collins questioned

"Holly's dad and brother live in Wisconsin" Jess said "but we are family too"

Collins nodded, she understood when it came to cops they were all family "I'm so, so sorry" She said "There was just too much damage from the bullet"

Jess felt like someone had just pulled the ground out from under her, if Don hadn't put his arms around her when he did, Jess was sure she would have hit the ground. "Thank you, Doctor" Don said shaking her hand before she walked away. Don led Jess back to the chairs and sat her down. Josh put his face into his hands while Jess stared into space.

Danny made his way down to surgical; he couldn't believe that all had happened had indeed happened. Jess, Nick and Holly all hurt. He knew Jess' and Nick's injuries weren't serious but Holly, well he couldn't think of it. He rounded the corner and walked towards Don, Jess and Josh. "Guys" Danny said. Jess shook herself back to reality "She's gone" she said as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.


	21. Chapter 21: Pay Up Part 2

_A/N: Again, this follows parts of Pay Up, I don't own anything you recognize._

Chapter 21:

Pay Up (Part 2)

"A short while ago, Detective Holly Scott passed away from injuries suffered during the shooting." Mac said, he paused and took another breathe "She was a damn good cop, who displayed exceptionally bravery, honor and devotion while keeping the people of this city safe, she fought hard, what's important now is we fight equally as hard to find the cowards who did this. You're the eyes and ears of this department, I want you pressing every informant, every new arrest, and every crook who owes you a favor, rattle cages, do what you have to do. No one pulls off a job like this without leaving some footprints. We have a proud history in the NYPD, when one of our own is taking from us; we always get our man…always. Now go out and do what you do best. Her family is counting on us." Mac said honoring their fallen hero.

Don entered the diner moments later and made his way over to where Mac and Danny were talking. "Hey" Danny said

"How's Jess doing?" Mac asked "How's Benton?"

"They're fine" Flack answered, "Nick has to stay overnight and Jess needed some alone time." he said running his fingers through his hair "I was feeling a bit useless"

"We're going to check out the hummer those bastarders used" Danny said, "Want to come?"

"I'm in" Don said

****************************************************************************************************************************

Jess sat outside the operating room, Holly's body was still inside. She was waiting for Josh to finish saying his goodbyes before she went in. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head there, she still couldn't comprehend that this morning had really happened.

"Jessica" Sid said walking down the hallway and approaching her.

She looked up, tears streaming down her face "Oh, Jessica, I'm so sorry" He said sitting next to her, "I don't know what to say or do. Umm…love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either."

"Thanks Sid" Jess said wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "She loved you, you know. She used to get a kick out of your randomness"

Sid smiled and sat down next to Jess "Do we have any idea who did this?" he asked

Jess shook her head "Not yet. But we will and may god have mercy on them when we do" Jess said

Josh walked out of the room, his eyes blood shot. "Jessica, do you want to go in before I do my thing?" Sid asked

Jess turned to stare at the door "I changed my mind. I'm not going in there." She said

"Jess" Josh started to say

"No, I can't go in there and have my last memory of her, be her lying there" Jess said "I need to remember her in Tillarys laughing and plotting to sleep with my brother." She stood up "That's not Holly in there, she's already gone"

****************************************************************************************************************************

Jess drove up to where Danny, Mac and Flack were investigating the hummer. She opened the glove department and pulled out her gun and badge before getting out of the car and slamming the door. Jess made her way around the front of the car and walked towards the boys. "I need to be here," Jess stated

"Did the doctor clear you for duty?" Mac asked

Jess nodded her head "My arm is superficial; nothing serious" Jess replied, "I talked to O'Bryan when I gave my statement. He said I can work it, as long as you are alright with me being here."

Don didn't think it was okay for Jess to be there, she was hurt physically and mentally. However much, he wanted her to go home and be safe, he knew she needed to be here; she had to do this for Holly.

"Ok then Jess" Mac said, "I have a nine millimeter" he told Danny and pulled it out of the hummer's window.

"That's Nick's" Jess said, "I think mine is in the SOB"

"You're right," Mac said opening the doors and discovering blood, "he was injury badly before getting in"

"I didn't hit him hard enough" Jess stated "He's still breathing" she mumbled, no one but Don heard her comment.

"This hummer is completely pimped out" Danny said "Bullet poof windows, the whole nine yards"

Mac shone his flashlight on the floor, he noticed what look like an IV and picked the bag up.

"What's that?" Flack asked

"Artificial blood. These guys are serious, I'm thinking military and if I'm right then we better prepare for war."

"You can count on it," Jess said

************************************************************************

"Alright, Stella" Mac said into the phone "La Guardia Airport, yea we got it"

"Dunbrook?" Danny asked

"Yea, Stella thinks he's going to flee" Mac said, "Danny head towards La Guardia Airport, Don get on the radio and request backup"

Jess stared out the window, watching the scenery go past and not paying attention to what was going on in the truck. "Jess" Don said "Are you with us?"

"I'm here" Jess said "How involved is Dunbrook?"

"Don't know yet" Don answered. He wanted to reach out and take her in his arms, just hold her and made all the pain he knew she was feeling disappear but he understood that this wasn't the time or place. He promised himself that he would hold her later.

Jess nodded "Stella filled me in when I dropped my clothes off for evidence." she said as Danny pulled into the parking lot of hanger 18.

"Do you think they have Connor in there?" Flack asked

"And ten million dollars and a jet" Danny said

"They are going to be out of here before backup arrives" Jess stated

Mac silenced everybody so they could hear their surveillance "It's a drop and ransom," he said

"And he's going to get Connor killed" Danny said

"We don't have time for backup, ready?" Mac said

Everyone got out of the truck, Jess heard the first shot "Down" she yelled as they took cover behind the open doors.

"There on the roof" Don said once he spotted the sniper.

Jess moved herself so she was still covered but still had a shot and pulled the trigger; she was determined to hit the asshole. She ducked again as a bullet hit the window; shattering it.

"We need to get in there" Danny said, he popped the hood and moved the truck forward until they could safely enter the hanger. Jess spotted the crew jumping into another vehicle and took another shot as they drove away.

Dunbrook turned "You just got my son killed"

*********************************************************************************************************************************

Jess made her way into the blue green café; she glanced around until she saw the two men she had came to meet. "Hello, Mr. Scott, Jason" She said

"Hey, Jess" Mr. Scott said giving her a hug before she sat down to the table with them.

Jess reached into her pocket and pulled out the saint Michael necklace and handed it to Holly's dad "I wanted you to have this back" Jess said

"Thank you" He said, "I gave her this, the day she got her badge. Told her it would protect her. I guess it didn't work"

"She wore it everyday; it meant the world to her. I have her badge too sir" Jess said, "I'll make sure it's returned to you, I just need it for tonight"

"The bar tradition" Jason said

Jess nodded "We come from a long line of cops" Mr. Scott said "Me, my father, Jason. It is in our blood and it was in hers too. Holly was so smart, I wanted her to be a lawyer but there was nothing I could do, nothing I could say to stop her from becoming a cop"

"I know" Jess said

"When she took the lab job, I was so happy I thought it was safer" Jason said, "She was my baby sister, all I wanted was for her to be safe"

"Jess, I want to thank you" Mr. Scott said, "You were always a good friend to my girl, and I am grateful"

Jess nodded "I want you both to know, I won't stop until I get the persons who do this" Jess said "I promise you that"

"I know" Mr. Scott said

"I have to get back," Jess said. Mr. Scott and Jason stood with Jess, each giving her a hug.

"You take care of yourself," Mr. Scott said

Jess nodded "I will" she said before walking away. She got outside of the cafe and had to wiped the single tear that had formed away from her eye.

***************************************************************************************************8******

Jess walked back into the precinct and sat at her desk. She just needed a moment to herself, to process. Don strolled over and placed the four pictures of the men, Mac had identify on her desk. "These are the guys?" Jess asked looking at the photos of Carl Miller, Vic Denton, Blaine Spezak and Simon Cade.

"Yeah" Don said "We also got a location: an abandoned building that was once used for off base housing in Fort Hamilton. Tactical is meeting now then we're heading out. Are you in?"

"Absolutely" Jess said

"Promise me something," Don said as they made their way out to join tactical.

"What's that?" Jess asked.

"You will be careful," Don said

"I always am" Jess said

The drive to Fort Hamilton wasn't long. Jess could feel butterflies in her stomach, something she hadn't felt since her rookie days.

"Are you sure about going in there?" Mac asked her as they climbed out of the truck

"I'm sure" Jess said, "I have to do this"

Mac nodded his head in understanding "Ok, let's do it"

Jess rushed into the building behind tactical. She heard shots being fired so she took covered behind a wall, Jess moved around and fired back. She saw one of the suspects run down the corridor and she chase after him. He fired and she fired back hitting him in the stomach. He got back up and ran towards the boiler room. Jess followed, she carefully descended the steps on guard. She reached the bottom step and saw Simon Cade lying on the ground. His shoulder bandage from her bullet, the 50-caliber desert eagle just out of his reach. Jess held her gun up, her finger tighten around the trigger. The imagine of Holly, laughing, joking and smiling floated into her mind.

"Jess, no" Don said coming down the stairs behind her. He understood what she was planning. He could hear her deep breathing and saw her hands shaking. Don walked around so he was standing in front of the gun "Babe, listen to me, you don't want to do this" he said

"He killed her, move out of my way, Don" Jess said

"Listen to me, in the car with Holly, she told me to take care of you. I'm going to do that. You won't recover from this, if you pull that trigger. Holly wouldn't want you to handle it this way," Don said

Jess let his words sink in and she slowly lowered her weapon. Jess walked around Don and bend down to Simon, she took her hand and pushed on his wound, making him scream out in pain "I hope you burn in hell" Jess said then she turned back to Don "Cuff him, I can't" she said before heading back up the stairs where she ran into Danny.

"We got Connor," Danny told her "ESU says there is one more suspect"

"He's down there" Jess said "Don's arresting him"

"You OK?" Danny asked concerned.

"Yea, I'm fine" Jess said

************************************************************************

Jess sat at the bar next to Stella and Lindsay. Sheldon started to pour shots and passed one to everyone. Silence and sadness filled the atmosphere.

"Come on guys, we said we weren't going to turn this into a tear fest" Lindsay said

"I have one" Sid said, "We all know Holly was a lottery junkie and she always played the same numbers"

"Her mother's birthday" Josh said

"Right" Sid said, "She truly believed she was going to win. Last April fools, Mr. Ross and me made it look like her numbers got called. She though she won the jackpot, when we yelled April fools, she was so mad"

Everyone laughed "So mad" Adam said, "She put super glue all over the inside of my lab coat, that hurt"

That made everyone laugh harder.

"Oh" Josh said "Holly turning 30"

"She did not want too" Stella said, "Turning 30 was the end of the world. Her eel prints on still imprinted on the countertop here from where she attempted to do the dance from Coyote ugly"

"It's weird that she won't get to turn 31," Lindsay said

"Are you going to do it?" Stella asked Jess, "or do you want me to do it?" That's when Mac came into the bar and joined the ritual.

"No, I'll do it" Jess said, she pulled Holly's badge from her sweater pocket, she rubbed her fingers over the numbers 9241. Don helped Jess up so she was standing on the stool; she raised the badge "Holly Scott was a special person with a giant heart. She was a damn good cop, she took down scum, dodge bullets, didn't hesitate and now she's gone" Jess paused so she could get control of her emotions. "And now this badge gets retired, number 9241, before Holly this badge belonged to her dad, Benjamin Scott. This is how it works we pass the badge down until it kills you, no one will ever wear this number again. Lets raise our glasses to Holly, she's gone but not forgotten" Jess finished, she raise her glass to her mouth. Due to the fact, she was standing a head over everyone else, she had a better vantage, she saw the silver car pull up to the bar, and she saw the gun first. "Gun" Jess yelled "Get down"

The sound of shots filled the bar, the windows shattered and everything went dark.

The end of season 5

Ok so I ended with a big cliff hanger and that's it for this story. Don't worry I'm already planning the sequel entitle "time heals all" which will take place in my season 6 which is probably not going to follow CSI NY's actual season 6. That is if people want me to continue.


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